Heroes of Arcadia: A Hero's Virtue
by Anthony Bault
Summary: In the aftermath of HOATGL, the new Gamemaster finds there is still adventure to be had, and learns his greatest enemy is himself. Rated R for language and a major bloodbath scene. Please R&R.
1. Honor and Honesty

Heroes of Arcadia - A Hero's Virtue  
by Anthony Bault  
  
Legal:  
Mario, Link, and all related characters are (c) Nintendo  
Megaman and all related characters are (c) Capcom  
Sonic and all related characters are (c) Sega, DIC, and Archie Comics  
Title names based on Ultima game series which is (c) Origin  
  
The following characters are (c) their respective fanfic authors:  
Bookshire Draftwood, Packbell, Elrond and Sarah Prower: David Pistone AKA Serinthia Draftwood  
Nina: Holly-B Kraft  
Lt. Sergio "T-Bone" Hernandez and Major Frank Sharpe: T-Bone  
David Kintobor and Chuckles Echidna: David Gonterman  
Lutherain: Emily S. Smith  
Gamemaster Anthony Bault, Pierre Flattail, Thaddeus Underwood, Mary Rose: Anthony Bault  
  
Above characters used without permission but are merely being used for fun and not for profit. (Rough translation *groveling* PLEASE don't sue!) This fanfic may be distributed unaltered but may not be distributed for profit.  
  
Author's forward:  
  
Never expected such a positive response from my first fic! Even those who had no knowledge of the video games or of the other authors' characters got into the story! Sure surprised the heck out of me! I even received praise from a true fan-fiction celebrity, Dr. Thinker, as well as the Zelda section's most prolific writer, Chica! I was even shocked to find myself on several authors' favorites lists! To be honest, I thought I'd be flamed to the point of meltdown...  
  
Anyway...this next fic is a series of five separate, yet connected stories which will help explain things that will happen in future stories. Also...I seemed to make the same mistake in my first fic that a lot of self-insertion fic writers made. I made my character so he could do no wrong, DESPITE his doubts. So...let's put him in a series of adventures where he must prove his worth as a hero by facing his worst enemy...himself! You'll see what I mean...  
  
NOTE: You will need to read my first fic, Heroes of Arcadia - The Gamemaster's Legacy, before reading this. This isn't a true sequel to my first fic, just some background material for future fics to come....  
  
(P.S. That sound you hear is the fourth wall completely shattering!)  
  
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Chapter 1 - Honor and Honesty  
  
"It happened again, Princess!"  
  
Mario and Luigi were running up to the palace of Mobotropolis with a hoverchair bound Anthony Bault in tow. He appeared to be sobbing in the hoverchair he was in, but these were tears of joy prompted into existence by the empathic sensations of the Mobians: intense feelings of admiration, respect, and immense gratitude that literally beat down on him.  
  
Princesses Zelda and Sally met the plumbers midway as they led Anthony to them. The four of them then brought Anthony to his room in the palace, where he began to calm down and wipe away his tears.  
  
"Thanks guys," Anthony said, addressing the plumbers. "I HATE when that happens..."  
  
"Well maybe you should listen to us when we tell you to stay inside," Zelda said, reproaching Anthony. "This is the third time you've been overwhelmed by sensing the emotions of the people out there, and this only your second day in Mobius!"  
  
"Hey! Excuuuuuuse me, Princess!" Anthony said, mocking the cartoon version of Link. "You know as well as I do I can't stay in the palace all day! I'd probably go nuts from castle fever!"  
  
"Don't a you mean, 'cabin fever'?" Luigi asked.  
  
"Does this place LOOK like a cabin?" Anthony shot back. "Besides, I was also trying something that would prevent me from breaking down like that. I was trying a version of my 'Psi Barrier' power, a power that could block other psionics, to try to block out the sensations from the people. Unfortunately emotions are too fluid to be blocked like psionics..."  
  
"Then you should listen to us and stay inside," Sally said. "You won't be able to recover and function as the Gamemaster if you keep exerting yourself."  
  
"Alright," Anthony reluctantly said. "But if I start saying 'Redrum' or write 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' on the walls, don't say I didn't warn you!"  
  
"Actually..." Sally said, taking a thoughtful glance. "We have something in one of our castle wings you might use to keep yourself busy..."  
  
Anthony raised an eyebrow at that statement. "What exactly?"  
  
"Follow me..."  
  
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Sally led Anthony to a wing of the castle that also had a entrance to the public. Inside, Anthony jaw dropped at what he saw...  
  
The room was set up like an huge arcade. Every video game system ever developed on his world of Earth was present, as well as a large selection of games for each. There also appeared to be a smaller room off to the side that had a name plate at the top which said "The Master's Domain".  
  
"What...the...HELL?!?" Anthony said. "How...did..."  
  
"A little gift from the people of Earth to Arcadia," Sally explained. "We set up this room as a rec room for the work crews and the children to entertain themselves in. That smaller room with the name plate is for you. It contains one of each system for your private use, including your own systems your parents brought from Earth and your collection of games plus the remaining systems you haven't gotten yet. By the way...what's the deal with all the role playing games you own?"  
  
"Personal preference," Anthony said. "As I grew up, so did my taste in games, opting for strategy instead of action. I still like a good console game though..."  
  
"That's good to hear, since Sonic would probably be upset if you no longer played his games! Well...I'll leave you to try out this new wing."  
  
Anthony smiled as she said that, and rifled through the Dreamcast games to find what he was looking for...  
  
"Awesome...they actually did send an advance copy of 'Record of Lodoss War'!"  
  
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That night, things were more peaceful as everyone went to sleep. Well, as almost everyone went to sleep...  
  
Anthony was feeling more of the effects of being super empathic, a side effect of the Final Power which he hoped was temporary. As he tried to sleep, he sensed the feelings and emotions of the people that were inside the castle, from the feelings of relief and happiness coming from the Acorns to the restless fear coming from the room of Julian Kintobor and Reginald Snout, the two formally known as Robotnik and Snivley before Anthony's psychic surgery.  
  
"This is nuts!" Anthony thought as he tossed and turned, trying to block out the empathic signals. "I can't sleep with all these emotions floating around! It's like when one of my old dorm neighbors at college played the stereo too loud at night!"  
  
Anthony was desperate for a solution, and used his powers to try to create a way to block out the sensations. Eventually, his mind created a power he called "Emote Barrier", which blocked out the emotional sensations.  
  
"OK, now we're talking," Anthony thought to himself. "Now...how can I keep this power going while I sleep? I can't do both..." He then turned toward where he kept his armor and the Descendancy Medallion. "I wonder..."  
  
He walked over to his armor and concentrated on having the medallion, and the Descendancy Powers within it, maintain the power. It worked as Anthony hoped, and created a nullifying field which covered the whole room. Anthony then returned to his bed and went into a deep and peaceful sleep.  
  
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Anthony woke up the next morning, not to his own body telling him to, but to the sounds of a familiar military trumpet song...  
  
Anthony turned towards where the noise was coming from, and saw T-Bone standing over his bed with a tape recorder and giggling slightly. Anthony responded by hitting the recorder with a cryokinetic bolt and turning it into a block of ice.  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" T-Bone responded. "You nearly froze my arms off doing..."  
  
"T-Bone," Anthony said, still a little groggy, "if you EVER wake me up to Reveille again, you'd better just be thankful freezing off your arms is all I'll do! GOT IT?!?"  
  
T-Bone looked with fear at the irate human, knowing what Anthony's powers were capable of. "Er...yessir! Sorry about that, Anth, but Princess Sally was afraid you'd had a relapse, seeing how it's nearly nine and all."  
  
Anthony sighed. "No, the empathic sensations from everyone inside this castle were keeping me awake. I actually did manage to create a power that can block them though."  
  
"That's great! Now you can go outside without the feelings of the Mobians reducing you to a blubbering fool!"  
  
"Right..." Anthony said. "Well, I'd best get moving. I'll see you later, T-Bone."  
  
Anthony started to get dressed after T-Bone left and then decided to remove the Descendancy Medallion from his armor so he could maintain the Emote Barrier. He then walked over to his hoverchair, his required transportation until he fully recovered, and noticed a piece of paper in the seat. Anthony opened it and read the words "Scott Summers and Jean Grey were looking for you" on it.  
  
"Grrr...T-BONE!!!!"  
  
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Anthony floated on his hoverchair to the dining room of the castle and found Princesses Zelda, Sally, Peach, and Sonia talking to a beaver on the other end of the table. There seemed to be an air of excitement as they spoke, which was only broken when Sally noticed Anthony enter.  
  
"Anthony, you're finally up!" Sally exclaimed. "T-Bone told us what happened, and it sounds like you found a solution to your super empathy."  
  
"Yep...that's why I'm carrying the Descendancy Medallion. It's energy is maintaining the Emote Barrier power. Now...what's going on here, and who's that on the end of the table?"  
  
"Oh, this is Pierre Flattail," Sonia said, making the introductions. "He's one of Mobius's finest artists and the man we commissioned to take care of a couple monuments."  
  
"Oui," Pierre said in an accent that could've rivaled Antoine's. "Zese will be my finest creations."  
  
"Cool," Anthony said. "What monuments are you going to make?"  
  
"Well...Knothole is going to be made a national landmark and zemetary for those who died in ze occupation of Mobius. I will erect a monument for those who died, with ze names of all buried zere."  
  
"Ah...just like Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Memorial in my country," Anthony mused. "What's the other monument?"  
  
"You vill like zis one the most, Monsieur Bault," Pierre said with increased excitement. "A statue of ze Gamemaster of Arcadia to be placed in Mobotropolis's main square as a reminder of the man who was key to Mobius's freedom."  
  
Anthony just stared at Pierre after hearing that. "Wait...that sounds like you're not talking about a statue of Sir Eric..."  
  
"You're correct, Anthony," Peach said. "We're building a statue of you! Isn't that great?!?"  
  
"Oh...GEEZ!" Anthony said. "Look...I appreciate the gesture, but in my world you don't build a statue to someone until they DIE! Last time I checked, I survived the Final Power..."  
  
"But...Anthony," Sally said, "all of Mobius owes you so much for bringing all the worlds of Arcadia together to help us end the struggle. This is our way of saying thanks..."  
  
"Ladies...Pierre," Anthony said, somewhat subdued, "I'm not being ungrateful or anything, but...all I did was provide my service in your battle. I don't deserve any special treatment or tributes because I'm the Gamemaster or because my actions were key to the battle. Please...just focus on the Knothole monument and forget about any statue to me, alright?"  
  
Anthony left the dining area to play some games in the Master's Domain. The princesses and Pierre were left wondering why Anthony didn't want recognition, and discussed creating the monument anyway.  
  
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That night, after a day of receiving verbal thanks from every Mobian that saw him, including receiving a kiss from Tails's friend Nina, a skunk child who was recently deroboticized, Anthony succumbed to a nightmare as he slept.  
  
He was surrounded by grateful Mobians thanking him for his help, but he was trying to look for his friends. Anthony found Megaman over to one side and walked up to him, but he disappeared as Anthony walked up to him. The same thing happened when he walked up to Sonic, then Mario, then Link, then Luigi, then Tails, and finally Amy.  
  
Anthony woke up in a cold sweat after that last disappearance. He deactivated the Emote Barrier and allowed the emotions of all in the castle to reassure him they didn't disappear. Breathing a sigh of relief, he reactivated the barrier and lay back down to sleep. But before going to sleep, a question entered his mind...  
  
"What did that dream mean?"  
  
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Anthony awoke the next morning with several questions going through his mind. The monument...what did he do to deserve this? He knew Mobius wanted to honor him, but immortalize him? Even if they thought he deserved it, HE didn't think he deserved it.  
  
And what about that dream he received immediately after hearing of the monument...why were his friends disappearing? And why were they disappearing when he walked up to them? Was he responsible for them disappearing? That was TOO terrible to think...  
  
Anthony met up with Amy, Nina, and Wendy O. Koopa as they were playing outside. They ran up to him.  
  
"Hi, Anthony!" Wendy said. "King Dad told me how you're getting a statue! That's awesome!"  
  
"Well he deserves it, Wendy," Nina said. "I mean...he did bring Arcadia together to save Mobius and I'd still be a robot if wasn't for Dr. Light's treatment!"  
  
"Girls..." Anthony said, trying to calm them down. "I appreciate the accolades, but you're making me sound like the second coming. I don't deserve a statue, at least not until I die, which is considered proper where I come from."  
  
"Anthony..." Amy said. "Mobius just wants to show you how much they appreciate what you've done and to create something that will inspire people for years to come. Why don't you want it?"  
  
"It's...I don't know Ames... Call it psionic instinct, but it just seems wrong."  
  
"Well maybe you'll change your mind once you see it," Wendy said. "Pierre is working on it now near the worksite and it's looking good!"  
  
Anthony's hoverchair floated towards where they pointed and he watched as stone chips were flying at a fast pace. The statue was halfway completed because of the high tech method used to speed up the carving. Pierre saw Anthony approach and stopped.  
  
"Ah, Monsieur Bault!" Pierre said. "Come to zee my work nes't pas?"  
  
Anthony looked at the statue. His face showed the look of determination he had just before he released the Final Power, and seemed to be looking towards the sky as if it was seeing Packbell's warship.  
  
"Nice!" Anthony said. "So...how is the Knothole monument coming?"  
  
"It iz finished. It vill be placed in Knothole during an especial ceremony, which the king iz setting up ze date for."  
  
"Wait...if it's finished, why not have it tomorrow?"  
  
"Well...we wanted to show your ztatue at the same time, as a way to relieve the zorrow of the loss of so many..."  
  
"I...see..." Anthony said, seemingly distracted. "Well, I won't keep you from your work. Carry on."  
  
Anthony floated away as Pierre continued carving. He decided to go to the Master's Domain to think...mostly about what's happening...  
  
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That evening a figure could be seen creeping near Pierre's worksite. It crept up to Anthony's statue and looked at it with great interest. Suddenly, it swung something at the statue, causing a large part of it to break away and fall to the ground as rubble. This continued until the statue was reduced to a pile of rocks on the ground. The figure, seemingly proud of its accomplishments, then walked stealthily away...  
  
A few minutes later, Pierre, hearing the noise, went to investigate his work area. Minutes later nearly all of Mobotropolis heard him scream...  
  
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"Anthony! Anthony, wake up!"  
  
Anthony got up slowly and turned toward the voice, seeing the face of Amy Rose. "Ames, do you mind? I was trying to sleep in..."  
  
"Anthony, you have to come! It's terrible! Someone destroyed your statue!"  
  
"WHAT?!?" Anthony jumped up upon hearing that. "I'll be down right away, just let me get dressed!" Amy rushed out of his room while Anthony hurriedly dressed and then jumped into his hoverchair.  
  
He arrived at Pierre's worksite and saw a crowd gather around what appeared to be a pile of stone rubble. Pierre himself was off to the side ranting and raving and throwing out several curses in French. Antoine was covering his ears because of what was being said.  
  
"When did this happen?" Anthony said as he approached Sally.  
  
"Last night it seems," Sally said as Protoman was trying to calm Pierre down. Sally then got more upset. "I just don't understand it. Why would someone do something like this?"  
  
"I know Sal, it's weird," Sonic said, then turned towards Anthony. "I can't believe someone hates you Anth, especially after all you've done!"  
  
"You're telling me?" Anthony said. "I'm still getting cheers from the Mobians every time I come out. This makes no sense..."  
  
Pierre finally calmed down and started to talk. "Zis iz ze OUTRAGE! My work...destroyed! It was to be my mazterpieze!!"  
  
"Can it a be rebuilt?" Mario asked.  
  
"Yez, but that iz not ze point! Ze point iz zomeone destroyed zis statue...a statue of ze GAMEMASTER! Eet iz unfathomable why zey would do zat!"  
  
"Pierre, calm yourself," Anthony said, trying to defuse the situation. "We can post guards if you'd like to restart. Don't worry, we'll find the guy!"  
  
"Make sure you give heem ze worst punishment possible, nes't pas!"  
  
The group dispersed and Sally went to find some guards for the worksite, recruiting Geoffrey and Antoine to pick out the best guards they could. Anthony floated up to Sally to talk. "Sally, when are you going to unveil the Knothole monument."  
  
"We're not...at least not until yours is completed."  
  
"But Sal, don't you think that's a bit disrespectful? I mean, those buried in Knothole DID give their lives for Mobius..."  
  
"I know...but that monument will be a reminder to Mobius of those they have lost because of the coup and who will never return. We hoped your statue would inspire hope to relieve them of that sorrow."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said, then started to float away. One thought penetrated his mind, however...  
  
"Inspire them...or make them forget?"  
  
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Anthony was in his room looking towards the worksite where Pierre restarted his work on Anthony's statue. As he pondered the events of late, he heard a knock on his door and floated over on his hoverchair. He saw Mario, Sonic, Link, and Megaman waiting for him.  
  
"Anthony," Link started, "mind if we come in?"  
  
"Not at all," Anthony said, making room for them to enter. "So, why the visit guys?"  
  
"We were wondering how you were feeling after hearing your statue was destroyed," Megaman said. "You didn't seem particularly disturbed by it."  
  
"That..." Mario continued, "plussa the fact we heard from Amy that you didn't a think your statue was a good thing."  
  
"Oh that..." Anthony said. "Well...for an explanation for that, I have to ask one thing. Sonic, do you feel...robbed at all?"  
  
"Huh?" Sonic said, confused. "What are you talking about, Anth?"  
  
"Well, before I came here and helped Mobius you were, undeniably, 'the man'...er, 'the hedgehog'."  
  
"Too true, too true..." Sonic said, ego in full view.  
  
"After the events of the Battle of Mobius I began noticing something. Every time I floated out on my hoverchair I heard several loud cheers from the general populace. However...I didn't hear the same cheers for Sonic or any of the other Freedom Fighters. I'm...afraid they're giving me all the credit..."  
  
"Oh come ON, Anth!" Sonic said. "Nothing's going to take away from our deeds of the last ten years! Besides...Mobius didn't truly become free until you brought Arcadia back together to help. You deserve the recognition!"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Not this again..." Link said, shaking his head. "By Nayru's grace, I've NEVER seen someone with so much doubt!"  
  
"It's not doubt, Link. Not once am I doubting that I made a significant contribution to Mobius's freedom and helped its people. But, do I really deserve all the credit? This was a team effort, after all. It wasn't one man from Earth that won the war, but hundreds of individuals from all five worlds that won the war. I don't deserve, and shouldn't deserve all the credit. That's why I don't think the statue's good thing, because it's creating that very impression!"  
  
"Anthony...the statue's not just for giving you recognition," Megaman said. "It's to inspire people and generations to come..."  
  
"Yeah," Mario continued. "Don't think of it as justa thanks to you. It has a different purpose than that."  
  
"Alright," Anthony said. "I guess I can live with that..."  
  
"Good," Sonic said. "C'mon, let's all get some chili dogs!"  
  
"Not ones a you made Sonic!" Mario piped up.  
  
"I'm with that!" Anthony said. "Those chili dogs you made last time kept me on the toilet for an hour stretch!"  
  
"THERE'S an image that'll stick!" Link said, wincing.  
  
The group walked out to grab some grub, all but Sonic laughing. Sonic, however, was mumbling something under his breath.  
  
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That night the vandal struck again. This time the guards posted were ineffective, falling asleep as the vandal used some type of strange power on them. He walked up to the unfinished statue and looked at it, giving a look of disdain at the work done. He then lifted the same item used to destroy the last statue and reduced the statue to rubble again. He then left the area quietly, happy with what was done.  
  
Once again, Pierre's scream could be heard all over Mobotropolis...  
  
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The next morning a crowd gathered around the worksite again. This time, Pierre was weeping instead of cursing. The cursing was being handled by Antoine and Geoffrey as they chewed out the guards for failing in their duty. As Anthony floated up on his hoverchair, he was met by Sally.  
  
"The vandal struck again..." Sally said.  
  
"So I see..." Anthony said. "Did the guards see anything?"  
  
"No...not even before they fell asleep..."  
  
"Fell asleep?" Anthony said. "Who trained them...Geof...?"  
  
"Don't even THINK of saying my name, bloke!" Geoffrey said. "Looks like there may be magic involved. The guards said the vandal used some weird power on them to make them fall asleep."  
  
Anthony sighed. "That could take a while to check out. Nearly all of Gardenia and Hylas and some of Mobius knows magic."  
  
"I know..." Geoffrey said, then turning towards Sally. "We've already started on the investigations, your highness. Princess Toadstool is using her Descendancy Powers to check the area. We'll let you know."  
  
Sally nodded and watched as Geoffrey talked to Antoine. She then walked up to Pierre to comfort him. Anthony also floated up to Pierre and caught the last part of what she was telling him.  
  
"...just restart the statue, Pierre. We will find who did this."  
  
Anthony then spoke up. "Sally, this is getting ridiculous. Maybe this statue isn't worth it. Look...I know you guys want to honor me, but this is taking too much time what with all these vandal attacks. We still have the Knothole monument..."  
  
"I know, Anthony, but this is supposed to be a time of rejoicing. With the feelings of sadness that may come from..."  
  
"I keep HEARING that, Sal, but frankly I think people need to be reminded and get the grief out of their system. Otherwise, they'll probably fall into a deeper depression later on..."  
  
"Anthony, what is your problem?" Sally asked. "I thought you'd want the recognition! Why...?"  
  
"I just hate being the center of attention, Sal. That and there's something else..."  
  
"What?" Sally asked, confused by Anthony's attitude.  
  
Anthony gave her a sideways glance and started floating away. "I'm surprised you don't know. Just think about it, Sal."  
  
Sally could only just stare as Anthony floated away. She then pondered a new way to protect the worksite...  
  
"Well, no magic was used," Peach said to Sally as she deactivated her Descendancy Powers after checking the worksite. "Whatever was used must've been technology based." Suddenly Peach received a realization. "Sally, I think I know, but...it can't be..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have an idea how I can be sure. We'll set a trap tonight after Pierre finishes his next startup. Just one thing..."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Don't tell Anthony..."  
  
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That night, the partially finished statue was once again locked up, and once again the vandal appeared. What surprised him was the lack of guards this time. Instead, he saw a note on the statue begging the vandal not to destroy the statue. The vandal just crumpled it up and threw it aside, then raised the same item used to destroy the last two statues.  
  
"GET HIM!"  
  
Suddenly the vandal was jumped by Mario, Luigi, Link, Megaman, Protoman, and Sonic. As the vandal struggled, he lifted a hand and pointed towards the statue, causing a large blast to emanate from it and reduce the statue to rubble. Nearly every hero was in shock, because they recognized the power...  
  
"It...can't be..." Sonic said. "Protoman, give us a light!"  
  
Protoman shone a light on the face of the vandal, and the face they saw made them gasp in absolute horror...  
  
The face was that of Anthony Bault.  
  
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Later that night, the six heroes, plus Princesses Zelda, Peach, Sally, and Sonia, as well as Bass, King Acorn, and Prince Elias were gathered in a small conference room in the castle, gazing at the human who was looking back at them with a steadfast and unfearing gaze.   
  
Peach shook her head in disbelief. She had a feeling Anthony was responsible, realizing the power that put the guards to sleep might have been psionics, but this was one time she hoped she was wrong.  
  
Nearly everyone was silent for a while, until Anthony spoke up. "I suppose I'd better explain myself..."  
  
"Yes, you'd better..." Sally said, then letting her anger rise further. "Great Destiny, WHY?!? This statue was going to help inspire future generations! It was made as a thanks to you!!! Why the HELL did you want it destroyed?!?"  
  
"Because I didn't think it was good for Mobius, or Arcadia for that matter!"  
  
"Didn't think it was good?" Zelda said, angry herself. "Didn't think it was GOOD?!? Did you even think at ALL?!? This was our gift to you! I've never seen such lack of gratitude before!"  
  
"Yeah!" Sonic said, then turning away from Anthony. "I thought we were your friends Anth! I thought we meant something to you! I thought..."  
  
Suddenly, in an explosion of temper, Anthony spoke up. "I do!!! I did that for all of you!!! You mentioned someone did that because they hated me! Well that person IS me!!!"  
  
All present were in shock at Anthony's outburst. Then Anthony calmed down and explained.  
  
"I'm sorry, but it was necessary. You see...I didn't want to see the real heroes of Mobius be forgotten because of me..."  
  
"Forgotten?" Sonia said. "How, and who are you talking about?"  
  
"See what I mean?" Anthony said. "I mean those that are buried in Knothole. Before I destroyed my statue the first time, I had a dream where the people of Mobius were cheering for me, and that all of you were disappearing as I tried to walk up to you." Anthony looked down before continuing. "I realized the real significance of that dream. You weren't just disappearing, you were being forgotten, and I was the reason..."  
  
"Anthony," King Acorn said. "Surely you can't mean that your statue would cause people to forget their sacrifice. I mean...we are building a monument to them as well..."  
  
"In Knothole," Anthony explained, "a place away from the city where few people will probably visit now. My statue was going to be placed in the main square, where several people will see it on a regular basis." Anthony paused a bit, then continued. "As for forgetting, it's already happening. Many of the people working out there have family and friends that are buried in Knothole, and yet they act like their acts didn't matter and that they didn't exist every time I go by on my hoverchair. I even let my Emote Barrier power lapse at times and didn't sense any type of grief or remembrance."  
  
The group realized what Anthony was saying, and began feeling down for yelling at him. Anthony then had a final thing to say. "I am not going to apologize for what I did, and I will do it again if my statue is rebuilt. I cannot in good conscience let their sacrifice go unnoticed and forgotten, the very thing Knuckles was afraid of have happen to him. It you're going to hate me for doing this, then hate me. I can handle it because I already hate myself for allowing this to get this far. Besides, I did what I thought was right...and you're just going to have to accept that."  
  
"Anthony..." Sally started to say.  
  
"Please just...leave me alone now."  
  
Anthony left the room with everyone else there just staring at him. He returned to his room in the palace and plopped down on the bed, mind reeling from his confession, and feel asleep as soon as he climbed under the covers. Sally came in an hour later and checked on him, and noticed his face was wet, as if he was crying in his sleep. Sally's heart nearly broke from seeing that...  
  
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The next morning, Anthony got up slowly from his bed, almost not wanting to get up because he didn't want to face people after last night. He got dressed and got in his hoverchair and floated towards the dining area.  
  
It was empty when he arrived, with the exception of a coffee pot with several cups near it. Anthony filled one of the cups and positioned himself near an area of the room near a window. He sipped his coffee slowly as he was deep in thought, wondering what he could do now that he had destroyed the trust of those he just made friends with. He even considered relinquishing the Gamemaster title and returning to Earth. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a light kiss on his cheek. He turned towards the source to find Amy Rose standing there.  
  
"You looked like you needed a friend," Amy said, looking in the sad hazel eyes of Anthony. "Sally...told us what happened..."  
  
Anthony looked down in shame, not sure what to say to explain his actions, especially to the one who looked up to him the most. Luckily, Amy spoke first...  
  
"Anthony...despite what you did, we are all still your friends. We still look up to you for what you did for Arcadia."  
  
"How can you say that, Ames?" Anthony said. "I practically stabbed by friends in the back when they were trying to honor me! How can you say you are all still my friends because of that?"  
  
"Because...it's true," a voice said from behind the two of them. Anthony turned around to see Princess Sally walk in to join them. She looked as if she had been crying herself. "We were all talking after you had left and realized...you were right. We have been forgetting about those we lost, those we cared so much about, and realized we would insult their memory by honoring you the way we have been. I guess...we wanted to use you as a way to forget our terrible past." She then knelt down to look Anthony straight in the eye. "Anthony...can you forgive us for yelling at you like we did?"  
  
Anthony smiled, feeling a lot better knowing he didn't lose their respect. "Only if you can forgive me for not telling you sooner. I should've told you how I felt at the beginning, maybe then I wouldn't have caused so much hurt. This is one of the things I hate about my position...you try to do the right thing, but your own feelings still exist about what you think is the right thing, and that can cause problems..."  
  
Sally got up and kissed Anthony on the forehead. "Don't worry about it. We know what a sensitive man you can be, Anthony. Amy here knows that more than anyone. Pierre's even forgiven you for what happened and has decided not to rebuild your statue, as you requested."  
  
"Good," Anthony said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Does this mean the other monument will be revealed soon?"  
  
"Yes, in fact today has been made a day off for all the workers and there will be a special ceremony in Knothole at noon. We all want you to be there since I think you will want to hear the speech prepared."  
  
Anthony nodded and made his way towards the room's exit. "In that case, ladies, there's something I must do first..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
At noon, a bell tolled coming from the direction of Knothole. Several people from the five worlds walked slowly towards the former base with a somber look on their faces. Many of the Mobians were wearing bakhats, a traditional mourning cloth. Those from the other worlds were wearing black sashes around their arms.  
  
Anthony followed the crowd on his hoverchair, keeping a respectful distance away because he didn't want to be noticed by the Mobians. He had activated his Descendancy Powers so he could wear his armor, his version of military dress, because he knew Antoine, Geoffrey, T-Bone, Sharpe, and others would be wearing their uniforms. The only thing different was the black sash he wore on his left arm on top of the armor.  
  
As soon as everyone had arrived at Knothole, King Acorn walked up to a podium that was set up, and began to address the crowd...  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to honor the men, women, and children buried here. For the last ten years, these brave people gave their lives in the occupation so that the rest of us may live, and today we now honor their memories with the raising of this monument."  
  
Acorn motioned towards where several Mobians were unveiling a large wall like monument from under a tarp. On it were the names of hundreds of people, but two names stood out to Anthony's eyes: "Alicia Acorn" and "Muttski", two who died from robotization.  
  
King Acorn continued. "Let this monument be a timeless reminder of those who valiantly gave their lives to protect us, as well as those loved ones we have lost to robotization. May we keep them in our hearts and never forget them, for to be forgotten is worse than death."  
  
Anthony was startled by that last statement. He recognized it as Freya's quote from Final Fantasy IX, and realized just how appropriate it was for this event, especially after what he had told Sally and the rest. He noticed Knuckles was present, and was particularly moved by that statement.  
  
"Major..." King Acorn said, looking towards a group near his podium.  
  
Anthony looked towards the group and saw Major Sharpe giving orders to seven individuals. Specifically...Toad, Protoman, Geoffrey, T-Bone, David, a Zoran soldier he didn't recognize...and even Julian Kintobor. They were holding what appeared to be standard laser rifles. As they stood at attention, Sharpe nodded towards where Antoine was holding a trumpet, and Antoine began to play Taps on it. As he played, the seven rifle holders did a standard 21-gun salute by firing three times into the air as per Sharpe's command.  
  
The entire crowd was moved to tears as the ceremony commenced, remembering who they had lost. Anthony was also moved just from the beauty of the ceremony. As the ceremony came to a close, many people walked up to the wall, placing bouquets of flowers near where their loved one's names were. Sonic even put a small bone with a black ribbon on it near Muttski's name.  
  
When the crowd left, Anthony floated up towards the wall himself, stopping a few feet before reaching. He then stood up and walked towards the wall, carrying a bouquet of flowers that had flowers from each of the five worlds. He then placed it near the middle of the wall, apart from any other bouquets so it wouldn't get mixed in and lost.  
  
"A fitting tribute to the true heroes of Arcadia," Anthony said softly as he placed the bouquet. "If it weren't for you, there wouldn't have been a Mobius to save. I only hope my being here won't cause people to forget you like they almost did..."  
  
Anthony then climbed back in his hoverchair and floated back towards Mobotropolis, gladdened in the fact that he prevented...what in his mind would have been the greatest tragedy that would have befallen Mobius... 


	2. Sacrifice

Chapter 2 - Sacrifice  
  
Two days after the Knothole ceremony, things began to return to a normal routine for the rebuilding. The workers in whole seemed to have a great weight taken off of them as a result of the memorial, and the amount of work done seemed to increase.  
  
Anthony noticed he no longer needed the Emote Barrier power, as the people's thoughts were no longer focused on him anymore. He was relieved...he didn't like being the center of attention, even before he came to Arcadia. Of course, some people could still pick him out of a crowd, as symbolized by the fact that Bass, David, and Sally were walking up to him.  
  
"Hi, Anthony," David said. "Has Wolverine reported to you yet?"  
  
"Yeah," Anthony said. "I said you were Sabertooth and he's looking for you to hunt you down. Now, will you cut the X-Men crap?"  
  
Sally giggled at this exchange. "At least you're almost out of that hoverchair. What is it, two more days?"  
  
"Three. My doctor wanted me to extend my chair stay after my late night activities. I swear...if my legs don't get some real activity soon, they may atrophy to the point where I'll need the chair for good!"  
  
"Well," Bass said, "you could always have your legs roboticized like Bunnie's."  
  
"NO, THANK YOU!" Anthony said. "I didn't fight for Mobius so that...wait a minute...Bunnie still has those robot legs? I thought..."  
  
Sally explained. "Only from the knee down. She also kept her robot arm from the elbow down, all these robotics being Kintobor mode, of course, so she can switch between them looking like flesh and like metal. She decided the benefits of having them were great for non-combat use as well, so she kept them."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said. "I would have thought..."  
  
"So did we," David said. "But she saw how useful my arm was and decided not to give it up. Even got it upgraded so it's close to mine!"  
  
"Cool. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go meditate at Vista Point."  
  
"Then you'll have company, Anthony," Sally said. "I just saw Tails and Amy go up there."  
  
"No problem," Anthony said as he continued on. "I wasn't really going to meditate, just watch the rebuilds from there, and I could use the company."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Vista Point was a small cliff that overlooked Mobotropolis, and was the same cliff where Anthony used the Final Power to destroy Packbell's warship. Anthony named it Vista Point because it reminded him of the same Vista Point that overlooked Koopa's castle in Super Mario RPG.  
  
As Anthony floated up to where he was going, he saw Tails and Amy on the edge of the point with their feet dangling over the edge, and they were watching the rebuilding effort as well. He also heard them speaking...  
  
"Quite a view, isn't it Amy?"  
  
"Yeah...you can see all of Mobotropolis from here. I can see why Anthony likes to come up here."  
  
"No kidding!"  
  
Both were silent for a minute, then Amy started talking again. "Tails...at the dedication ceremony...on the wall...did you see your parents' names on it?"  
  
"No..." Tails said sullenly.  
  
Amy looked down before continuing, "Me neither. I knew my dad died before I was born, but...my mother..." Amy then looked at Tails. "Do you think they're alive somewhere?"  
  
"Not sure, Amy," Tails said, "but I'm sure they're out there somewhere."  
  
Both became silent for a moment, then quiet sniffles could be heard from Amy. Tails noticed this and hugged the young hedgehog in an attempt to comfort her as she started to cry. "Oh, Tails, I miss her..."  
  
Tails was also starting to tear up. "I know, Amy, I know..."  
  
Anthony watched as this unfolded and his heart sank. He wished he could help, but wasn't sure what he could say or do to comfort them or console them. He floated away quietly, deep in thought...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"God, I feel so helpless and useless!" Anthony thought to himself as he sat in his room. "Those two are my friends, and I can't think of ANYTHING I can do to help! There's got to be something...I only wish my empathic abilities..."  
  
Suddenly a thought occurred to him. He knew from one of his role-playing games that there was a psionic power that could read objects and learn their past from psychic impressions on it. He wondered if he could do the same. He concentrated as hard as he could on the room he was in, trying focus on psychic impressions from the past...  
  
He then saw the room's past. The room before the coup was once a nursery, and he saw a crib that had two children, a fox and a squirrel, lying in it.  
  
"Sally and Elias no doubt," Anthony thought as he saw the image. He let the image fade, and smiled as he realized what this power meant. He also knew he needed help to carry out what he was going to do...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Here's what you wanted, Anthony," Protoman said, handing him a map as well as a communicator for his hoverchair. "The map contains the locations of where the villages of Bluebrook and Forecrest, Tails's and Amy's former homes, were located. The communicator will link directly to me and me alone. Now...may I ask what secret mission you're going on that you don't want anyone to know about?"  
  
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, Proto," Anthony said. "I'm going to look for Tails's and Amy's parents using a power I just discovered called Past Sight. If I'm lucky, I'll find them alive as well as several others who survived the attacks. I don't want anyone to know of this because if Tails and Amy find out, their hopes might get up that they'll be alive, and if I find their parents dead..."  
  
"I understand...but, you're supposed to be relaxing and recuperating. Won't this overexhaust you?"  
  
"No. The power itself isn't that draining and requires minimal energy. Also, I'll be carrying a few bottles of these..." Anthony then produced a sack filled with what looked like bottles of water. "Bookshire developed this substance called 'amino water'. It's water infused with amino acids that help restore mental functions. We tested it a while back and found it can restore psi energy. He originally created these in case I used my powers and felt drained."  
  
"I see... You know, I was going to try and stop you from doing this, but knowing you I have a feeling you'd go and do this crazy stunt anyway. I'll cover for you the best I can, just contact me if you run into trouble or get tired from psi depletion!"  
  
"I will. Thanks Proto." Anthony then floated out of the castle to start his journey.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Bluebrook was located close to Minoc Grove, so all Anthony had to do was take a transit gate from the Mobius/Earth portal (located near Mobotropolis) to the Mobius/Neo-Earth portal (located in Minoc) and then go from Minoc to Bluebrook. He had to order the portal guards to keep quiet about his movements, telling them his mission was classified.  
  
Bluebrook was still in ruins. He looked around and shook his head at the level of destruction and shuddered at what visions he might see. Swallowing his fear, he started the Past Sight power to view images from four years in the past, since he knew Tails was eight when he was found.  
  
He saw the attack as it commenced four years ago, with Packbell leading the charge. He looked at one house in particular, where two adult foxes told their child to go and hide. Anthony noticed this child had two tails...  
  
He then watched as the adult foxes ran out to face the attackers, but they noticed the attackers were too strong. They then watched in horror as their house collapsed.  
  
"Oh my god..." Anthony thought as he watched this image. "They thought Tails died!"  
  
He watched as the female cried in anguish and saw the male try to help her out of the village as the remaining villagers try to escape. He continued to follow the image as the survivors, including Tails's parents, ran away to find safety. Anthony had to stop mid-travel to drink a bottle of amino water because he was feeling fatigued. Eventually, Anthony followed the psychic images to another village, where the survivors met with this town's villagers and told them what happened. Anthony stopped the image and looked around his area, seeing the ruins of another village.  
  
Anthony began to feel tired again, and noticed the sun was beginning to set. He activated his communicator.  
  
"Protoman, do you read?"  
  
"Right here, Anthony," Proto said. "I thought you were going to check out Bluebrook first?"  
  
"I did. The surviving villagers from Bluebrook came to this village's location, and they included Tails's parents! They thought Tails died when his house collapsed and ran with the rest."  
  
"My god...well, are you aware where you are?"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Check your map..."  
  
Anthony checked his map, following the path he took, and was shocked when he saw where he was...  
  
"No way...they ran to Forecrest?!?"  
  
"Looks like it, since you're there."  
  
"Never thought it would be this easy... OK, Proto, come and pick me up and we'll pick up tomorrow."  
  
"Alright, I'll be there. You alright?"  
  
"A little tired and hungry, but alright."  
  
"Good, I'll be there shortly."  
  
Anthony looked around, feeling a measure of confidence that he would find Tails's and Amy's parents. But he was still uncertain as to whether they would be found alive...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next morning, Protoman returned Anthony to Forecrest to continue his investigations, and Anthony was giving final instructions to Protoman.  
  
"When I find out anything, I'll contact you. I hope I don't have to go to far."  
  
"Me too. You slept ten hours last night. I think you did overexhaust yourself from the distance between Bluebrook and Forecrest."  
  
"Don't worry about me. I have plenty of amino water on hand. Get back to Mobotropolis before they miss you."  
  
"Alright. Just so you know, Peach and others were wondering where you were. I told them you were visiting Earth."  
  
"Hopefully they believe that. If not...I'll tell them I made you do this."  
  
"They're not going to believe THAT!"  
  
"Why not? I AM your leader!"  
  
"You're not officially the Gamemaster YET, Anthony!"  
  
Protoman rocketed off on his hoverjet as Anthony looked around at the ruins. He then reactivated his Past Sight power and viewed the events starting at slightly before the time of the attack on Forecrest, which was about two years ago.  
  
He caught a glimpse of Amy and a lavender adult hedgehog, most likely her mother. The adult was giving Amy a kiss as Amy ran off to play. He then saw the attack commence. He watched as Tails's parents were trying to protect some of the villagers and leading several of them out, including Amy's mother. She apparently feared the worst, fearing that Amy may have already been captured and/or killed. He also saw Amy hiding in one of the nearby trees.  
  
Anthony followed the psychic images as the survivors ran away from the burning village. This time the running distance was longer than last time. Anthony had already drained two bottles en route and only had one bottle left. The image was still going strong as Anthony noticed another clearing coming up. He drained his last bottle as he approached it, and noticed the images stopped as he reached it.  
  
He looked around and saw nothing...no place they could have gotten to. He also noticed his powers were waning again...  
  
"No, not NOW!" Anthony thought. "I can't lose my powers NOW!" He then pulled something out of his pocket he put there in case of emergency: The Descendancy Medallion.  
  
But before he could activate the Powers, he felt something hit his arm. Looking towards his arm, he saw what appeared to be a dart. He then blacked out.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
It was getting late when Protoman tried to contact Anthony. "Anthony, come in. What's your status? Anthony, please respond!" No answer. Protoman started to worry, and decided to check where Anthony was located. Knowing Anthony might overexhaust himself, Protoman placed a homing device on his hoverchair, just in case. He got a signal on his internal comm unit, and then, suddenly, the signal stopped.  
  
"NO!" Protoman thought to himself. "What happened?"  
  
A voice snapped Protoman from his thoughts. "Protoman, do you know where Anthony is?" Protoman turned towards the source of the voice and found Princess Zelda standing there. Unfortunately, he still had a look of worry on his face, which Zelda noticed. "Protoman, what's wrong?"  
  
"Um...well...I can't tell you right now, your highness."  
  
"Protoman, what's wrong? Ever since you told us Anthony was on Earth, I felt you've been hiding something. Now what is it?"  
  
Protoman had no choice but to tell them, since he would need their help. "Your highness, you'd better get the others. Anthony's...decided to do something rash..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
After nearly two hours had passed, Anthony finally awoke. He found himself on a bed in what appeared to be a room in a private home, and also noticed he was physically restrained to it.  
  
"What the hell?" Anthony thought to himself. "Where am I?" He soon heard voices coming from outside the room and tried using his Clairaudiance to hear them better. His powers were still weak, but he managed to pick up some of what was being said.  
  
"Thaddeus, are you sure that item he was carrying was a Descendancy medallion?"  
  
"Yes, it matches the sketch in the old legends exactly as Magi Reynard wrote it. Whoever he is, he must know something about the Companions."  
  
"But...he's HUMAN! Thaddeus, we can't trust him! What with Robotnik still a threat and all, he may be a spy looking for new targets to roboticize!"  
  
"We don't know that for a fact. We did find a homing device on his hoverchair, but that may have just been an emergency device in case of trouble. We deactivated it outside of the city, so we should still be safe. The least we can do is interrogate him to find out what he's doing here."  
  
Anthony stopped using his powers and laid back in the bed. He noticed a rather aged woodchuck then come in.  
  
"So, you've finally awoken." He said, then sat in a chair next to where Anthony was restrained. "May I ask what you were doing near our encampment?"  
  
"I'll be glad to," Anthony said, trying to make himself comfortable despite the restraints. "But first, I'd better introduce myself. My name is Anthony Bault, descendant of Sir Eric of the Larson Clan."  
  
The woodchuck gasped in shock at what Anthony said. "D-did you say you're Sir Eric's descendant?!?"  
  
"Yes," Anthony said. "In fact, I bring good tidings from up above. The five worlds of Arcadia are reunited and Robotnik has been defeated."  
  
The woodchuck almost fell off his chair from that last part. "Defeated? Is...is this true?"  
  
"Yes," Anthony said. "In fact there's a rebuilding effort going on to rebuild Mobotropolis with all five worlds taking part. The castle is already complete and most of what was once Robotropolis is gone. I can confirm that for you if you will just release me. There's a comm unit built into my hoverchair."  
  
The woodchuck pondered what was said, then released the bonds that held Anthony. "I'll take you to where your hoverchair is, and, by the way, my name is Thaddeus Underwood, elder of this village."  
  
  
After Protoman had told Zelda and several of the others what had happened with Anthony, he couldn't have been closer to being dismantled...  
  
"How could you let Anthony DO this, Protoman?!?" Sally asked angrily. "You know Anthony wasn't at full strength! For all we know, he could have relapsed and THAT'S why he can't answer!"  
  
"I also know Anthony was going to find a way to do it even if we told him 'no'," Protoman answered. "Besides, he asked me to keep it a secret because he didn't want to get Tails's and Amy's hopes up that he'll find their parents alive. By the way, I'm glad you didn't tell them about this."  
  
"They didn't need to know," Link said. "Alright, so now we need to go looking. You said you got a signal briefly before it went out. Do you know where it came from?"  
  
"No, and..." Suddenly, Protoman put his hand to his head. "Guys! I'm getting a communication from Anthony!" He pressed a few buttons on his arm panel and Anthony's voice came through.  
  
"Protoman, come in! Do you read?"  
  
"Loud and clear, Anthony! What happened? I lost contact with you earlier and had to tell everyone about what you were doing!"  
  
"Oh...GREAT! Well, no matter, since I was going to ask for one of them anyway. Is King Acorn, Princess Sally, or Prince Elias nearby?"  
  
Sally grabbed the arm Protoman was speaking into and started to talk. "Sally here, Anthony. Now, what the HELL were you..."  
  
"Berate me LATER, your highness! I have Thaddeus Underwood here. He's the elder of an underground city that was built to protect the people from Robotnik, and from the looks of it, they have no idea what has happened lately. Can you tell him about recent events?"  
  
Sally was shocked at what was just told her. "Great Destiny...of course. Mr. Underwood, Robotnik has been defeated, and the city is being rebuilt to its former glory. We could still use some help with the rebuilding...and can't wait to welcome you and the people there home."  
  
Sally could then hear what sounded like sobbing in the background, then Anthony spoke again. "He broke down into happy tears, Sal. I'll let you know when the people are within range of Mobotropolis so you can greet them."  
  
"Alright, Anthony. Just...be careful this time!"  
  
"Will do. Gamemaster out."  
  
Sally fell back into a chair after the communication ended, placing a paw on her forehead in disbelief. "I...can't believe he pulled that off!"  
  
Several of the others nodded in agreement, then Sonic spoke up. "Man...when I told him he was something else...that was one HECK of an understatement..."  
  
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Thaddeus had gathered the people together to tell them of the news. Several of the citizens there were talking amongst themselves, mostly asking why there was a human sitting in a hoverchair next to where Thaddeus was. Thaddeus then began to address the people.  
  
"My friends...I have great news to tell you all. I have just been in contact with Princess Sally of Mobotropolis. The war is over, and Robotnik has been defeated!"  
  
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd, and many of the people were hugging each other in excitement, and many were shedding tears of joy. Eventually the crowd calmed down, and Thaddeus continued.  
  
"This information would not have gotten to us if it wasn't for the efforts of the human sitting next to me. His name is Anthony Bault, and he is a descendant of Sir Eric of the Larson Clan and the new Gamemaster of Arcadia. Anthony?"  
  
As Anthony floated up to address the crowd, he could see several of them were visibly shocked by what Thaddeus just said. He then started to talk. "As Thaddeus has said, I am Sir Eric's descendant, and by my being here, some of you may have realized that the worlds of Arcadia have reunited. The five worlds are currently working together to rebuild Mobotropolis as well as several other areas of Mobius. Thaddeus has asked me to lead you to Mobotropolis, where hopefully many of you will be reunited with family and friends that were separated from you. Speaking of which...that is how I came to your village. I was using my powers to seek out specific individuals that were separated from family during the coup. As the rest of you get ready to leave, I wish to meet with these individuals in private. Is there anyone named Prower or Rose in this group?"  
  
Three paws shot up from the crowd, two coming from a couple of foxes over to one side, another coming from a female hedgehog with lavender quills. "Good. Once you are all ready to leave, we shall start off to Mobotropolis. King Acorn and several others will be awaiting you there to greet you."  
  
The crowd dispersed after giving another cheer and started to walk towards their homes. Anthony floated over to where the two foxes and hedgehog he had seen earlier were waiting for him. He noticed the female fox appeared to be pregnant.  
  
"Thank you for waiting. I know you are curious to know why I was looking for you. First, can I have your names?"  
  
"Yes," the male fox replied, "my name is Elrond Prower, descendant of Magi Reynard, and this is my wife, Sarah."  
  
"My name is Mary," the hedgehog said afterwards.  
  
"Alright...now, Elrond, Sarah, Mary, the reason I was looking for you is regarding your children..."  
  
Mary looked down in sorrow. "I don't have any children. I lost my only daughter to Robotnik's forces..."  
  
"Elrond and I lost our son too," Sarah said, rubbing her enlarged stomach. "We have another child coming...but this one won't ever remember a brother..."  
  
Anthony then spoke again. "Were the children's names Miles Prower and Amy Rose?"  
  
All three of them looked up in surprise, then Elrond spoke. "Y-yes! But, how...?"  
  
Anthony then smiled and continued. "You will be happy to know then that your children are alive! Both of them have been living with Sally's Knothole Freedom Fighters, and now Miles has inherited Reynard's Descendancy Powers. Even helped me out a lot in the final battle!"  
  
The three of them gasped in shock and the two ladies were crying tears of joy. Anthony then said one final thing. "You'd best get ready with the others now. Your children await you..."  
  
Elrond helped his wife over to where they were staying while Mary rushed over to her domicile. Anthony watched as they left and smiled...feeling better than he ever had before.  
  
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King Acorn and several others were waiting in anticipation near the border of Mobotropolis. They had just received Anthony's message and were waiting to welcome the people that Anthony had found in that underground city.  
  
"Why did Anthony want us here?" Tails asked Zelda, who had brought him and Amy to the gathering as well.  
  
"You'll see," Zelda explained. "Anthony has a surprise for the both of you."  
  
"Here they come!" Hershey called out as she saw the group approach, led by Thaddeus. When they were within eyeshot, the Arcadian crowd that had gathered gave a loud cheer, and many of the Mobians went out to embrace the incoming newcomers. King Acorn even embraced Thaddeus, and Anthony found out later that King Acorn and Thaddeus were old friends.  
  
Tails and Amy were scanning the crowd looking for Anthony. "Where is he?" Amy asked. "I thought he was with the rest of the group."  
  
Eventually, they saw Anthony approach in his hoverchair, and the two kids ran up to him. "Anthony, this was awesome!" Tails remarked. "But...where did you find them? And, why...?"  
  
Suddenly two voices called out. "Miles?" "Amy?"  
  
Tails and Amy froze, recognizing the voices that they had just heard. They then turned towards the source and gasped when they saw two adult foxes and an adult hedgehog looking at them with tears in their eyes.  
  
"M-mom?" "Mom? D-dad?" They both stammered, and then ran towards their respective parents. The five of them then embraced each other, with Amy hugging her mother tightly and Tails sandwiched in between the two adult foxes. All five were crying tears of joy and seemed to not want to let go, fearing they may lose each other again.  
  
Anthony watched this exchange and smiled, then began to float his hoverchair towards the castle. He was stopped by Princess Sally.  
  
"Anthony, where are you going?" she asked. "There may be people who want to thank you for this!"  
  
Anthony turned towards the five that he had left and said, "I already got what I wanted, Sal. Besides, I need to turn in...I'm way past due for a recharge! We can talk about this tomorrow morning."  
  
Sally nodded in understanding and watched as Anthony headed towards the castle. "Oh...we will definitely talk about this tomorrow, Anthony..."  
  
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The next morning, Anthony got showered and dressed as usual and was about to climb into his hoverchair, when he noticed a note on it...  
  
"If this is another X-Men ref, I'm going to kill Kintobor and T-Bone!" Anthony thought to himself, then read the note.  
  
~Anthony - Please report to the palace's main meeting room once you are ready. Sally~  
  
"Uh...oh..." Anthony thought to himself. "Looks like it's time to pay the piper for my little stunt. Hopefully the positive results will make them go easy on me."  
  
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Anthony floated over to the meeting room on his hoverchair, wondering what fate had in store for him. Of course by fate he wasn't sure whether or not he was referring to the male counterpart of the Mobian goddess, Destiny. He would find out soon enough.  
  
When he arrived at the meeting room, to his surprise nearly every Arcadian leader was there: Princess Toadstool, King Nimbus, King Bowser Koopa, Princess Zelda, King Acorn, Princess Sally, Prince Elias, and Queen Aleena. Doctor Light and Bookshire were also present. They all looked like they had a lot on their minds.  
  
"Good, you've arrived," King Acorn started. "Please come to the table."  
  
Anthony found a vacant area near the table where he could maneuver his hoverchair in, and just sat looking in the direction of King Acorn. He then began to speak again.  
  
"Mr. Bault, the reason we asked you to come is in regards to your recent actions. You have acted in quite a reckless manner, risking your health in what could be considered a wild goose chase. This, combined with your actions regarding your statue, makes us wonder about your fitness to be Gamemaster of Arcadia. So, I must ask...why? Why did you risk your health on what might be considered a wild goose chase?"  
  
Anthony looked up towards the entire group and answered. "You want the full story? Fine. I did it because I felt I had an obligation to do it, mostly to those two kids I call friends. When I agreed to become the next Gamemaster, I did so to see what more I could do for Arcadia, not just so Arcadia could have a Gamemaster...I don't like being just a figurehead. When I saw Tails and Amy crying out of grief for missing their parents, I felt I needed to do something, or at least try to do something. That's when I discovered the power to read the past by reading latent psychic images...by the way, Princess Sally, Prince Elias, you two were cute babies!" Sally and Elias gasped and then blushed at this. "At any rate, when I discovered this power, I realized I had to at least try to find out what happened at those villages, perhaps even discover some things that might not have been discovered through normal searches. Well...you've seen the results."  
  
"That still doesn't answer one question, Anthony," Zelda spoke up. "Why did you feel you had an obligation to use this power? All you were doing was risking your health to do something that didn't even guarantee results."  
  
"Because if I didn't...it would have been just as evil as Robotnik was, refusing to help when I had the ability to. A wise man once said 'Evil triumphs when good does nothing', and if I did nothing, Robotnik technically would have won because lives would have still been destroyed, emotionally this time."  
  
"You couldn't even wait until you were better?" Peach asked.  
  
"Not really, I'm impatient that way...and I didn't even pick up that trait from Sonic! I couldn't wait to help out Tails and Amy, especially after seeing them cry like they did on Vista Point. Call it...a character flaw on my part..."  
  
The group nodded in understanding and then King Acorn stood up from his chair. "Well then, Anthony, are you willing to face the punishment for your actions? After all, we cannot have you running off and doing something like this again."  
  
"Of course," Anthony said. "It will be worth it after seeing those two kids happy again."  
  
"Well then..." King Acorn said, then stood up and faced Anthony. "Anthony Bault, your recovery period where you must stay in that chair is hereby extended to a week to ensure your full recovery. Also..." King Acorn gave a dramatic pause before continuing, this time talking in a lower and less official tone of voice. "You have our undying gratitude for your act. Without your help, those people may have never been found, and many family and friends would have never gotten back together. For this, since you won't allow a statue, we here have put this together."  
  
Koopa took out a small package from underneath the table and walked over to Anthony to hand it to him. Anthony opened the package to reveal what appeared to be a medal case divided into five sections. At the top of it was engraved the phrase, "MANY WORLDS - ONE MASTER".  
  
"What you hold in your hands, Anthony, is Arcadia's tribute to you. In each of the sections are the medals of valor you have earned from that particular world. In the Earth section, besides the Congressional Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart you earned at the Battle of Mobius, you will also find one other medal. This is the Order of Sir Eric, given to individuals from Earth for service to Arcadia. You are the first recipient."  
  
Anthony looked at the medal case in awe, amazed at the honors that were heaped on him. "Not bad for a guy who looks like an accountant!" Anthony mused, then turned back towards the group. "Thank you...all of you. I...don't know what to say..."  
  
Sally then spoke up. "You don't need to say anything, Anthony. But there is something else..." She then nodded towards the guards at the door, and one of them went outside. When he came back in, Tails, Amy, Elrond, Sarah, and Mary were following.  
  
"I figured you would all want to see me," Anthony said as they came in. He then noticed Tails and Amy were positioning themselves on either side of Anthony's hoverchair and were looking at him in absolute admiration.  
  
"We did indeed," Sarah said. "We never got a chance to thank you for reuniting us with our children, and arranged for this meeting with you since you were friends with our children."  
  
"They told us some of the things that they had done while in Knothole," Mary said. "Amy...even told me how you had comforted her during a couple of difficult times. I'm...even more grateful for that."  
  
"Look...there's no need to thank me," Anthony said. "As I was telling them, I was happy to do it and felt I needed to it. Tails and Amy had been through enough with this coup...and needed to be with their families again. Speaking of which...Sarah, did you tell Tails...?"  
  
"Yes, she did," Tails spoke up, "and I can't wait! I'm going to be a brother!"  
  
"I'm happy for you...in fact, I'm happy for all of you," Anthony said, then turned back towards the royalty. "Was there anything else?"  
  
"Just one other thing, Anthony..." Sally said, then nodded towards Tails and Amy.  
  
Suddenly, Anthony found himself receiving massive hugs from both Tails and Amy, and sensed great feeling of gratitude coming from them as well as noticing tears of joy running down their faces.  
  
"You're welcome..." Anthony whispered to them. 


	3. Compassion and Justice

Chapter 3 - Justice and Compassion  
  
A lone warrior found himself surrounded by several robotic warriors. The robots remained still as the warrior drew a sword from a scabbard on his back, and then charged once he assumed a battle stance.  
  
The robots were literally being blown away by strange blasts emanating from the warrior's unarmed hand, while those that got too close were sliced in half by the strangely strong blade.  
  
Finally the battle came down to the warrior and one robot. The robot drew a laser weapon and fired, only to have the blast be reflected by the warrior's sword. The warrior then came in close and sliced the robot into a pile of scrap and bleeding oil.  
  
"Well done, Anthony."  
  
Anthony looked at the robotic carnage around him. More than a week had passed since he recovered from his excursion to find Tails's and Amy's parents, and he was currently being tested to see if was fit to leave medical care.  
  
Anthony turned towards the observation window where Bookshire and Dr. Light were watching the battle while consulting several instruments.  
  
"How'd I do, Bookshire?" Anthony asked.  
  
"Better than expected! Psionic depletion during that entire fight was only 16% despite the fact you were using your powers to fire Force Blasts as well as enhance your abilities. Looks like you made a full recovery!"  
  
"Thank God!" Anthony said, relieved. "If I had to spend ANY more time in that damn hoverchair, I would have gone nuts!"  
  
"Form the lack of activities?" asked Dr. Light.  
  
"From the multitudes of Professor X jokes coming from David and T-Bone. I swear...after that last riff where David asked me about Lilandra, I nearly asked Protoman to reprogram his robotic arm to play Barney songs non-stop. Luckily, I'm not that cruel..."  
  
"To say the least..." Dr. Light mused. "Protoman might have decided to do it anyway just for fun, even if you told him not to!"  
  
Sally walked into the observation room and asked the doctors about Anthony's condition, then turned towards Anthony. "Anthony, I hear you're at full health now. I was wondering if you would meet me and my father in the throne room in about an hour."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"My father wanted to discuss something with you once you were fully recovered."  
  
"Alright...see you in an hour then, your highness."  
  
As Sally walked away, Anthony suspected there was something more to the meeting she asked about. Especially since she whispered something to Bookshire and Light before leaving...  
  
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After an hour had passed, Anthony was walking towards the throne room. He had his armor on and had the Sword of the Gamemaster strapped to the back, expecting to take on the responsibilities of the Gamemaster once he was done talking with the king and the princess. He wondered what King Acorn wanted to see him about, especially after seeing Sally's actions in the training room. Hopefully he would find out soon...  
  
Once he arrived outside the throne room, he noticed Antoine and Geoffrey guarding it as if something was taking place inside. Even more suspicious now, Anthony decided to stay out of their line of sight and use his Clairvoyance power to see what was going on.  
  
He saw that nearly every hero from the five worlds, from Mario to Sonic and from Link to Megaman were waiting in the throne room on either side of a carpet that ran up to the throne, almost gauntlet fashion. King Acorn, Princess Sally, and Prince Elias were waiting near the throne in their finest regalia. All in that room were anxious in anticipation...  
  
"Oh, I got set up good..." Anthony thought to himself. "Well, better not keep them waiting. But first, if this is going to be a royal affair, better dress right..."  
  
Anthony activated his Descendancy Powers to cause the Master's Armor to appear, then walked up to the door to the throne room. Geoffrey and Antoine saw him approach, and opened the doors to the throne room as he walked up. As he entered he saw King Acorn shake his head...  
  
"I should've realized we wouldn't have been able to keep this from a psionicist," King Acorn said, then stood up. "Anthony Bault, please step forward." Anthony walked towards the throne, stopping just as he reached the end of the carpet. "Kneel."  
  
Anthony kneeled down in front of the king, placing an arm across his chest in a sort of salute. He then noticed the king remove the Sword of the Gamemaster from the scabbard on his back. Anthony suspected what would happen next, and then the king spoke again...  
  
"One thousand years ago, a knight from Earth came to our worlds and gave his life so that we may all live. Today, one of his descendants, one who has shown great courage and heart, now joins our ranks as the hero and representative of his world."  
  
"God, this is pretentious!" Anthony thought to himself. "Better suck it up, Bault...these guys want this ceremony for God, Destiny, or Farore knows what reason..."  
  
The king continued, tapping the blade of Anthony's sword on each shoulder while speaking. "Anthony Bault, descendant of Sir Eric, I now officially knight you Gamemaster of Arcadia. May you continue to serve with honor and dignity. Arise!"  
  
Anthony stood up, now noticing the king handing the handle of the sword to him. He took his sword, bowed, and then faced the crowd. He then did a Cloud Strife style victory salute, spinning the sword in front of him before placing it back in his scabbard, and then yelled, "Someone give me a 'Hell yeah'!"  
  
The entire room yelled the phrase...then walked up to congratulate the newest hero of Arcadia.  
  
"Congratulations, Anthony...or should I say, Gamemaster?" Link said. "So...what are you going to do with your new, and now official, title?"  
  
"Hopefully keep busy," Anthony said, deactivating the Descendancy powers and reverting his armor to the red plate form. "After spending two weeks in a hoverchair, I could use some action."  
  
"Don't you think you've already done enough?" Protoman asked.  
  
"The only reason I accepted becoming the Gamemaster was to see what more I could do, Proto. So no, I don't think I've done enough and I very much intend to do more."  
  
"Like a what?" Luigi asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure I'll find something..."  
  
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"What do you mean, 'NO'?!?"  
  
Anthony was having no luck getting the work crews to allow him to help with the rebuilding effort. He had asked several of those present, including the Mario Brothers and the Goron metalsmiths, if there was anything he could do, but...  
  
"You've already done enough for us, Gamemaster," one of the workers said. "Let us take care of this. You just enjoy yourself now that you are well."  
  
Anthony shook his head in disbelief at the workers not wanting an additional hand helping them. "And I thought I was an incurable workaholic," Anthony thought to himself. He walked off towards Vista Point to think and ended up seeing Mary Rose.  
  
"Mary!" Anthony said, addressing the newly found mother of Amy. "I thought you'd be spending time with your daughter."  
  
"I was. I can't tell you enough how great it feels to be back with her," Mary said. To his surprise, she then embraced the newly appointed Gamemaster and started crying tears of joy. "Thank you so much..."  
  
"Hey, like I said, I was glad to do it. Especially to see Amy happy again," Anthony said, comforting Mary. "Now, where is Amy?"  
  
Mary released the hug and wiped her eyes and then said, "She left not too long ago and is heading towards Minoc Grove to meet Wendy and Nina. She also mentioned something about wanting to get something for you..."  
  
"Oh, she DID, did she? Well, I think I'll go catch up with her. She'll probably want to know I'm finally out of that hoverchair. I'll see you later, Mary. Device two, ACTIVATE!"  
  
A jet sled appeared under Anthony's feet and Anthony sped off towards Minoc Grove. Mary just stood and watched Anthony's departure, showing complete admiration for the new Gamemaster.  
  
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Amy was in higher spirits than she had ever been before. Mobius was free and she got her mother back...and she had Anthony to thank for both. She was wondering what to get Anthony. She had seen a small selection of mystery books that he had brought from Earth in his possession, though she wondered how the heck to pronounce "Poirot", and thought about finding a mystery book by one of Mobius's authors. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she stumbled into a deep hole.  
  
As she recovered her senses, she looked at the hole she fell into. "What the...? Who dug this here?" she thought to herself, and started looking around for a way to get out. Suddenly, a bear trap like mechanism, sans the teeth, clasped onto her leg and a grating appeared on the hole opening.  
  
"Oh no...Help! Help!" Amy yelled, hoping someone was within earshot, while trying to free her foot. She suddenly heard what sounded like water running and became more panicked when she saw the hole start to fill with water. "Great Destiny...HELP!!! SOMEONE HELP!!!"  
  
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Anthony was midway between Mobotropolis and Minoc when he stopped his jet sled. He thought he would run into Amy by now, considering Mary said she had left Mobotropolis not too long ago, and wondered where she could be.  
  
Suddenly he sensed a feeling of absolute panic. He focused his powers and found a grating on the ground in the middle of the road. He then used his Clairvoyance powers to see beyond the grate, and was shocked when he saw Amy flailing around in the water.  
  
"AMY!" Anthony said, pulling out his lightsaber from the side of his armor. "Hang on, I'll get you out!" He then activated the lightsaber and used it to cut open the grating. He then threw the cut away grate to the side and yelled into the hole. "Amy, can you swim out?"  
  
"NO! My foot's caught in some trap on the bottom! Help...gargglll..." The water suddenly went over her head.  
  
"NO!!!" Anthony said, afraid for Amy's life. "ARMOR, ACTIVATE!" The red plate armor covered Anthony's body and Anthony fired his grappler weapon towards a nearby tree and then jumped into the hole. The armor kept water from entering as Anthony used his free hand to free Amy's leg, psionically enhancing his strength to literally rip the bear trap off it's hinging. He then grabbed Amy and reeled in the grappler to pull them both out.  
  
Anthony set Amy to the side and helped her as she coughed up nearly a quart of water and then took deep breaths of air. As Anthony's armor reverted to its deactivated form, he gasped for breath, relieved that he rescued Amy in time and worried what would have happened if he didn't make it.  
  
"Amy..." Anthony said, "are you alright?" Instead of a verbal answer, Amy suddenly hugged Anthony, sobbing loudly and trembling out of fear.  
  
Anthony hugged the young hedgehog back and tried to calm her down. "Shh...shh...it's alright. You're safe now..." He then stood up, carrying Amy, and activated his jet sled to take them both back to Mobotropolis.  
  
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"Great Destiny...WHAT HAPPENED?!?"  
  
Mary ran towards the incoming jetsled when she saw Anthony carrying her daughter, and noticed Amy crying as well. Anthony handed Amy to her and the young hedgehog continued to sob as she was embraced by her mother.  
  
Sally and King Acorn saw the exchange and ran up to Anthony as he deactivated his jetsled. "Anthony, what happened?" Sally said. "Amy looks absolutely terrified!"  
  
Anthony looked towards Sally and she saw almost an enraged look in his eyes. "Amy nearly got killed, Sally. Some...SICKO...placed a deathtrap in the middle of the road, and that nearly drowned Amy!"  
  
King Acorn looked shocked. "Did you say drowned? Can you describe the trap?"  
  
"Yes...apparently someone gets caught by a trap at the bottom of a ten foot pit which catches onto the foot. Also, a steel grating appears on the top, blocking any exit. Finally, the pit fills with water, drowning the victim." Anthony shuddered at that last part, thinking about what would've happened if he didn't make it in time. Mary, who overheard the description, also shuddered in fear for her daughter and held Amy closer.  
  
King Acorn's reaction was somewhat more intense, as he collapsed on the ground. "Great...Destiny..."  
  
Anthony saw this reaction and sensed something...namely recognition. "You...recognize that, your majesty?"  
  
"Y-yes, but...I thought this world had seen the last of it." Acorn then looked up towards Anthony. "Gamemaster...what you described is called 'The Soaking'. It was once used as a form of punishment in this kingdom for capital offenses such as murder or treason to the crown. It was abolished long before my time because an accident with one of the pits nearly cost the life one of the previous king's soldiers. Now that tragedy was nearly reenacted..."  
  
"Your majesty..." Anthony said. "I don't think that was one of the old pits. This looked like it was newly built."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"All the mechanisms looked new, as if it was recently built."  
  
Acorn stood up and looked towards Mary. "You'd better take your daughter to Bookshire and have him look her over." Mary nodded and headed towards Bookshire's office, carrying Amy in her arms. King Acorn then looked toward Anthony. "I'll send my soldiers to where the pit is, Anthony. We'll get to the bottom of this."  
  
Anthony nodded and then described where the pit was located. As Acorn and Sally walked off, Anthony stopped Sally to talk to her.  
  
"Sal, I'd like you to get the Heroes Council together in my room in the palace to discuss this. Something tells me your father will need plenty of help to get to the bottom of this."  
  
"Alright, Anthony. Are you alright?"  
  
"A little peeved...but yes."  
  
Sally walked off to find who Anthony wanted, but looked back in fear at Anthony as she walked off. Even without Anthony's powers, she sensed Anthony was more than a little peeved...  
  
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The Heroes Council, as Anthony called it, consisted of the heroes of the worlds of Arcadia as well as the descendants of the Companions. It was something he had set up with the worlds as a group that would get together in case of problems, he himself counting as both a hero and descendant of Earth. This group included Mario, Luigi, Peach, Link, Zelda, Megaman, Protoman, Bass, Sonic, and Tails, all of whom were walking towards Anthony's room upon hearing from Sally.  
  
Upon arriving they saw Anthony looking out of the balcony towards where King Acorn's soldiers were heading towards the pit location. They also noticed he seemed to be clenching onto the railing rather hard, as if staving off some fury.  
  
He turned towards the group as they entered, and they all noticed the look of rage in his eye as he spoke. "I guess you all heard what some fucking sicko had done out on the road leading to Minoc Grove."  
  
"We heard," Tails said, surprised at Anthony's use of language. "Is Amy alright? Better question...are YOU alright?"  
  
"Bookshire's looking at her right now," Anthony said. "As for me...I'm just a little..."  
  
"You LOOK pissed!" Protoman said, interrupting Anthony. "You should calm down!"  
  
"Calm down?!? CALM DOWN?!?" Anthony's rage was now visible. "A friend of mine nearly got killed because of what that fucker did, and you're telling me to CALM DOWN?!?!?"  
  
"ANTHONY!" Zelda yelled, trying to stop Anthony's tirade. "Stop it! Getting angry will not help! I know how much Amy looks up to you, but having a tantrum won't help!"  
  
Anthony collapsed in a nearby chair and placed his head in his hands. "You're...you're right. I'm sorry. It's just...the thought of...if I wasn't there..."  
  
Mario walked up to Anthony and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We know...but you did a save her and that's all that matters. Right now we need to concentrate onna who put that trap there."  
  
Bass then spoke up. "I'm guessing you gathered us to help in the investigation?"  
  
"You guessed right," Anthony said, calming down. "Whoever did that may provide a continuing threat to those going to Minoc. Normally I'd suggest using the transit gates between the Mobius/Earth and Mobius/Neo-Earth portals for travel as a way to avoid the road, but with so many people that may need to go to and from there it will cause one hell of a bottleneck."  
  
"Not to mention the fact that the portals and gates currently have restricted access," Megaman continued. "All those people moving back and forth would cause more of a security risk than usual."  
  
Everyone nodded, then Sonic spoke up. "Okay...so first thing we do is figure out what this guy was doing. I mean, he can't just be taking the time to place these pits for just grins and giggles, he must have a target..."  
  
"I think I know who it is..." Anthony spoke up.  
  
Everyone looked at Anthony. "Who?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Julian Kintobor."  
  
"Why Julian?" Peach asked. "I mean...I thought all of Mobius forgave him because of the circumstances involved."  
  
"True...but two things point to him. First, the pit was about ten feet deep and wide enough to allow me to go in and rescue Amy with plenty of room to spare. That's sounds like overkill for someone of Mobian stature, but not for a portly human like Julian. Second, the pit was modeled after an old form of the death penalty used for punishment for capital crimes like treason...and what do you think his actions as Robotnik qualified as?"  
  
Everyone nodded in understanding. "But, if that's true, why put the pit there?" Luigi asked. "Anyone could step into it by accident like Amy did."  
  
"Unless...does anyone know what Julian is doing now?"  
  
"Let's see..." Protoman thought. "After his recovery, King Acorn assigned him to basic soldier's duties, having him start from the bottom and work his way up as a way to make up for what happened over the last ten years. I think today he was assigned to patrolling...the...area...between...uh oh..."  
  
Everyone looked toward Protoman as a look of realization appeared on his face. "Mobotropolis and Minoc Grove?" Anthony asked. Protoman nodded. "Thought so," Anthony continued. "OK, looks like we know what the situation is and it sounds like someone on the inside's involved. I'd like everyone to aid King Acorn in the investigation and keep an eye on Julian in case another attempt is made on his life. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Amy."  
  
As Anthony walked out, everyone waited until he left and was a safe distance away. Zelda then turned towards Tails. "Tails, use your powers and summon Lutherain. I want to make sure Anthony can't sense what we need to talk about."  
  
Tails activated his Descendancy powers and used the Magi's Wand to summon Lutherain, a falcon with telepathic abilities that was Sonia's familiar. He then drew upon Lutherain's powers to use a power similar to the Emote Barrier Anthony used a while back and shrouded the whole room in a protective field.  
  
"Good," Zelda said, then addressed the crowd. "OK, I'm guessing you all know why I don't want Anthony to hear this..."  
  
"You mean the fact he just acted like he was going to kill whoever built that pit?" Sonic answered.  
  
"Exactly. I'm afraid he won't be able to help us in this state. After hearing how Amy was able to surprise him at the Power Ring lake while he was distracted by his fear, he may not have full control of his powers if he investigates this with us since his powers may be hindered by his rage. We need to get him away."  
  
"I don't know, Zelda," Link said. "Anthony might object strongly to being left out, and I doubt we'll be able to keep him from taking part anyway..."  
  
"Then we'll just have to distract him further," Peach said. "I'll go talk with Mary, Amy's mother. Perhaps she can find a way to keep Anthony occupied..."  
  
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Amy was sleeping peacefully on one of the beds in the infirmary, even though Bookshire had to sedate her to do it. Mary was sitting in a chair half crying, half shuddering with fear over her daughter's safety. When Anthony arrived, Mary jumped up and embraced the new Gamemaster, whispering thanks for saving her daughter.  
  
"It's alright Mary, your daughter is safe now. We'll find whoever did this," Anthony said, trying to comfort Mary. "What did Bookshire say about Amy?"  
  
Mary calmed down and released her embrace. "No injuries, thank Destiny. But...she's so terrified about what happened, Bookshire had to sedate her in order for her to relax. She's sleeping now."  
  
"Good," Anthony said. "Hopefully, she will have calmed down upon awakening."  
  
Mary looked down in fear. "I'm...not so sure of that. As I hugged her before bringing her here, she whispered something...to the effect of not stepping outside again."  
  
"I'm guessing," Anthony mused. "she's scared because Mobius was just freed and just when she thought she was finally safe...this happens. The thought of that must be disillusioning to her." Mary almost started to cry again upon hearing that when Anthony spoke up. "Listen Mary, we'll find this guy. We all didn't fight to free Mobius so some other sicko can terrorize the people."  
  
Bookshire walked out just as Anthony finished talking. "Oh, Gamemaster, I'm guessing you're here to check on Amy?"  
  
"Yeah...I heard you needed to sedate her..."  
  
"She was quite frightened by what happened to her. I fear she may have nightmares for a while," Bookshire said, then turned towards Mary. "Mary, she'll need your support more than ever to get through this."  
  
"I'm not surprised..." Mary said, then broke down into tears again whispering "Why?" This time, Bookshire comforted Mary.  
  
Peach came in as this scene took place and talked to Anthony. "Anthony, how is Amy?"  
  
"Sedated and asleep right now," Anthony said, then turning towards Mary and Bookshire. "Bookshire, tell me when Amy wakes up. I'll be in my room. Mary...don't worry, she'll be fine. She'll get over this." As he left the office he thought to himself, "I hope..."  
  
After Anthony left, Peach walked up to Mary as she began to calm down. "Mary, I was wondering if you can help us."  
  
"What do you need, your highness?" Mary asked.  
  
"We're worried about Anthony, and wondered if..."  
  
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Anthony looked out from the balcony of his room to where the pit was located, angered by what almost happened to Amy. He was waiting for the report of what Acorn's soldiers found and hoped the Heroes Council could also find out something. His thought were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing her throat. Anthony turned around to see the faces of Wendy and Nina.  
  
"We heard what happened to Amy and ran back as soon as possible," Wendy explained. "The road was crawling with soldiers to make sure no one else fell in any pits. Is Amy alright?"  
  
"She's fine..." Anthony said. "Frightened as all hell, but fine."  
  
Both girls breathed a sigh of relief, then Nina spoke up. "Do you think Bookshire will let us see her?"  
  
"She may still be sedated...but it shouldn't hurt to ask. She would probably like the company. Go ahead."  
  
As both girls left, Anthony turned back towards the balcony. He then heard someone else clearing her throat. This time when he turned around, he saw the face of Mary Rose.  
  
"Mary!" Anthony said, surprised. "Nina and Wendy just left to go see Amy. Is Amy awake now?"  
  
"Amy's awake, but...she started trembling again out of fear as soon as she woke up. Bookshire's keeping her under observation, but I told Wendy and Nina she would appreciate the company." She looked down before continuing. "Anthony, I'm worried. Even before we got separated by Robotnik's forces, I've never seen Amy this frightened. I wish I could take her mind off this."  
  
"Well...I don't know what I can do. My powers cannot remove fear or other emotions..."  
  
"No, it's not that..." Mary said, then looked in Anthony's eyes. "You've traveled through all five worlds of Arcadia, is there someplace you could take us? Someplace where we can stay for a while to help take her mind off this?"  
  
Anthony was surprised by this request. "Mary...I know she's your daughter, but...I don't think running away from this will help. Even if it's for a little while."  
  
"I know but...it's the only thing I can think of. Can't you help?"  
  
Anthony pondered Mary's request, thinking about where would be the best place to "vacation" for these two. He needed someplace where they would not be bothered or feel out of place. He could only think of one location...  
  
"Alright...I'll go make the necessary arrangements..."  
  
Mary thanked Anthony and left to go see her daughter again. Anthony then turned towards a communications device that was set up in his room. The system used was recently created by Dr. Light and Chuck as a way to communicate between the five worlds of Arcadia, with the primary communication antennas located at the portal locations.  
  
"Open communications. Target...Earth...Earth/Gardenia portal location..."  
  
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The members of the Heroes Council were examining the pit and the surrounding area. Mario and Luigi found the plumbing system used to pump the water into the pit and were using a probe with a sensor on it to determine where the water originated from. Megaman, Protoman, and Bass were scanning the area for any additional information they could find.  
  
"Hmmm..." Mario said, checking the sensor data. "Looks a like there's a tank located directly next to where this pit is. The probe did not a go far." He then yelled out to the bots. "You bots a find anything?"  
  
"Only the pump for that tank I just heard you talk about," Protoman said. "There doesn't seem to be any other signs of anything other than the trap. Looks like the entire trap was built as a single unit then buried." He then breathed what could qualify as a robot's equivalent of a sigh of frustration. "This is going to take a while..."  
  
Bass then said, "Unless this was an inside job like Anthony suggested..."  
  
Mario and Luigi jumped out of the pit upon hearing that. "What do you mean?" Mario asked.  
  
"Well...who else knew Kintobor was going to be out here? Only people within the King's inner circle..."  
  
Everyone present nodded in understanding, then Sonic and Link walked up to the group. Well...Sonic ran up...Link was taking his time.  
  
"Nothing within one hundred miles of the place," Sonic said. "We would've been back sooner but Link wanted to recheck everything."  
  
"Hey! I was actually checking, Sonic here was speeding through," Link said when he arrived. "But he's right...no sign of anything."  
  
Luigi then spoke up. "Bass has been a saying this might be an inside job, just like a Anthony said. In which case, we should a probably talk to the king to see who has a grudge against Julian still."  
  
Sonic then smiled an evil grin. "I hope it's St. John. He's had a hatred for humans for the longest time and that guy has been getting on my case just because Sal chose me over him. I will take great pleasure in interrogating him..."  
  
"Something tells me the king won't let you near him if that's the case, Sonic," Tails said, flying down and rejoining the group. "Nothing could be seen from the sky, guys. Of course, with all the trees in this area, it makes it hard to see."  
  
"Kind of makes it hard to believe this area was a polluted wasteland not too long ago," Megaman said. "So...should we tell the king our suspicions?"  
  
"Definitely," Bass said. "We should cover all angles, even the most unlikely ones."  
  
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In one of the recently built houses, Mary was busy packing some belongings into a couple of suitcases, including a weeks worth of clothing for herself and Amy. As she packed, she secretly hoped this "vacation" would help her daughter get her mind off recent events. She also wondered where Anthony would take them.  
  
As for Amy herself, she was still feeling a little scared. Sitting on a couch, she was hugging her legs to her body and just staring at nothing in particular. Only the sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts...and shocked her out of her wits.  
  
Mary opened the door and saw Anthony standing there. "Oh...Gamemaster..."  
  
"Mary, please call me Anthony," Anthony said. "Are you ready to leave?"  
  
"Yes...Amy?" Mary said, calling for her daughter. "Let's get going now." She then turned back towards Anthony. "Where are we going?"  
  
"Earth. There's a government safehouse where you and your daughter can stay without worrying about autograph hounds asking for your daughter's autograph."  
  
"Where is it, and how did you manage to arrange our staying there?"  
  
"It's located in Minneapolis. In fact...it's my home."  
  
"Your home?"  
  
"Yep. Ever since the Gardenia portal appeared there, it was converted to a government safehouse to protect it. My parents still live there, even receiving special benefits from the government for use of the house for Arcadia based use. They've already got one of the spare rooms setup for you and Amy and are expecting you."  
  
"Good...I'll go get the suitcases..."  
  
As Mary walked off, Amy walked towards the door where Anthony had just come in. She looked as if she had been crying, or at least trying to prevent herself from crying, and Anthony knelt down to talk to her.  
  
"Hey Ames, are you feeling a little better now?"  
  
"Not really..." Amy said, looking up at Anthony. "I'm still a little scared..."  
  
"Well, that's to be expected, considering what you've been through. But, your mother hopes this getaway will help take your mind off it. You should like my hometown, plenty of things to do: parks, malls, fishing...er, oops..." Anthony caught himself upon mentioning that, and noticed Amy starting to cry out of fear again. "At least I didn't suggest swimming," Anthony thought to himself as he tried to calm Amy down, "but, GOD am I a dumbass!"  
  
Mary came down with the suitcases as the scene was unfolding and watched as Anthony tried to calm down Amy. "What happened?" she asked.  
  
"Ah...I was mentioning some of the things to do in Minneapolis, and I mentioned fishing, and, well..." Anthony said.  
  
Mary nodded in understanding and picked up her daughter to try and comfort her. Anthony picked up the suitcases and the three of them headed out, meeting Zelda as they were leaving.  
  
"Zelda," Anthony said, "I'm taking Mary and Amy to Minneapolis so Amy can hopefully get her mind off of recent events. I should be back shortly once I get them settled to help with the investigations."  
  
"Oh, well you shouldn't have to worry, we can take care of the investigations," Zelda said. "Why don't you stay with them and help Amy? I'm sure Amy will be glad to have you there and besides...aren't you overdue with telling your family you've recovered now?"  
  
"Hmmm..." Anthony said, sensing there was more to Zelda's request. "Alright. I suppose I AM a bit overdue in visiting my family since my hospital exit. Keep me informed with what you find."  
  
Anthony, Mary, and Amy then started to walk towards the Mobius/Earth portal. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Good. Hopefully this should keep Anthony's temper out of the equation..."  
  
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Julian Kintobor was told of the suspicions regarding the trap and wasn't taking the news too well. "I knew I wasn't totally forgiven..." Julian said. "I wish the king hadn't decided to put me back in his trust. This event proves there are still people who hate me, and the king may lose the people's trust as a result. Not only that, but that little girl nearly died..."  
  
David was trying hard to convince his father otherwise. "Dad, c'mon. Mobius forgave you and they know what you are going through now that you realize what happened. Just because a few jerks still don't like you is no reason to blame yourself for what happened! Save that blame for whoever set the trap!"  
  
King Acorn was also there trying to convince Julian. "Julian, even I knew it technically wasn't you who shoved me into the Void. I have even told my people the circumstances regarding the Retro Orbiting Chaos Converter, and they realize you were as much a victim as they were. Whoever's doing this is just bitter and refuses to listen and accept the truth. We'll find who did this. THAT person is the real one to blame."  
  
"Very well, your majesty," Julian said, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "Shall I return to duty?"  
  
"No," King Acorn said. "I'm taking you off duty until we can find out who did this. Consider it a vacation. You and your son can spend more time together as well."  
  
Julian nodded in understanding and stood at attention until King Acorn left. He then sat back down and turned towards David, who was at the moment placing a hand on his father's shoulder to help comfort him...  
  
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Anthony was saluted by the portal guards at the Earth/Gardenia portal as he, Amy, and Mary exited the transit gate from Area 51, the Earth/Mobius portal location. "Gentlemen," Anthony said, rolling his eyes, "I'm a civilian, you don't salute me."  
  
"Actually sir," one of the guards said, "your position as Gamemaster is considered equal to both an ambassador and a high ranking officer's rank in Arcadia. So you are to be treated accordingly."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said, sighing in disbelief, then changed the subject. "Are my parents home?"  
  
"No sir. They had to run out on an errand. The spare room next to yours is already prepared though and they are expecting your guests."  
  
"Good," Anthony said, then turned towards the hedgehogs. "Alright, let's head upstairs."  
  
Since the portal was still in the basement of the house, they had to climb two flights of stairs to reach where the room was located. Anthony led them into a room which featured a queen size bed, a desk, a double closet, and several cabinets. Anthony also noticed something else...a plush Amy Rose doll adorning the bed and propped up on the pillows.  
  
Anthony giggled at the sight of this. "Looks like they got a gift for Amy," Anthony thought to himself, then turned back towards Amy and Mary and said, "I'll let you two get settled. I'm going to get set up in my room."  
  
Anthony left the two hedgehogs so they can unpack and entered his room which was right next to theirs, hearing a gasp from Mary as she spots the doll and smiling upon hearing it. He removed his armor and sword and set them in the corner of the room next to where another sword was hanging on the wall, the very same sword he first used when he first entered Arcadia. He then set a duffel bag on his bed and unpacked the clothes he brought with him.  
  
After unpacking, he collapsed on his bed, exhausted both physically and mentally. He was having a hell of a day, trying to deal with recent events both with his official title receipt and with what was happening with Amy. One nagging question came with him as well: Why did Zelda suggest he stay with them here? He sensed there was more to her request, but surely his powers would help figure out who did set the trap, and besides, he wanted to deal with whoever was the fucker who...  
  
As Anthony clenched a fist in anger from his thoughts, he suddenly realized why Zelda sent him with the hedgehogs. His temper. He had become so angry with whoever set the trap that his rage had got the best of him, something that became apparent when he talked with the Heroes Council and yelled at everyone. He realized he would be no help in this state...and decided this vacation was just as good for him as it would probably be for Amy.  
  
After resting for a bit and collecting his thoughts, he checked to see how Amy and Mary were doing. When he checked on his guests, he saw Mary currently sitting on the bed and hugging Amy, who in turn was hugging the doll.  
  
"Hmmm...A private moment," Anthony thought. "Better leave them alone for a bit. I can show them around the house later." He then walked down the stairs into his home's family room and plopped down in one of the recliners, brandishing a remote he grabbed from off the nearby table and turning on the television. He then started flipping through channels.  
  
"Reruns...golf...B-movie...George Bush...more golf...the HELL?!?" He checked a nearby calendar and saw it was Saturday. "GOD, I hate weekend TV! Guess I lost track of time in Arcadia." As he shut off the television, he heard the garage door opening, signifying that his parents had come home. He decided to greet them as they came in and walked up to the entry. Naturally, his parents were pleasantly surprised to see their son, and embraced him upon seeing him...  
  
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Sonic was pacing back and forth within one of the other rooms of the palace. He was kept out of the interrogations of the palace guards because of his feelings towards Geoffrey. He hated waiting...and hoped the interrogations would reveal something about the mindset of the guards towards Julian. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a familiar voice...  
  
"You look bored, Blue..."  
  
Sonic turned around to see the face of Knuckles. A surprise at best...  
  
"Knux?!? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Heard what happened to Amy and came to lend a hand with the investigations. The Chaotix and the Mobius/Gardenia portal guards are taking care of the emerald. Find out anything so far?"  
  
"Nada Red..." Sonic said. "We think it's someone on the inside since whoever it was knew Julian's schedule. I kinda wish Anth could check them out, but..."  
  
"But what?" Knuckles asked, slightly confused.  
  
"You missed it, Red. Anth was totally pissed off by what happened to Amy. I've never seen him like this! Princess Zelda had him go with Amy to his hometown of Minneapolis to cool off, since his powers will probably be just as out of control with him in this state."  
  
"Hmmm...I could have told you about that temper," Knuckles said. "Anthony showed it before showing me that fanfic. Never believed it would get this bad..."  
  
The two of them then turned where Mario and Luigi came in. "Well," Mario said, "looks a like this investigation will take a while. None of the guards knew anything about the trap. One thing though, it a seems the information for how to make the trap can no longer be accessed."  
  
"Huh?" Sonic said, confused. "What happened to it?"  
  
"Looked a like it was purged from the library computers," Luigi said. "Recently too. Doctor Light is currently checking the computers, but whoever deleted the info was good....leaving a no sign as to his entry."  
  
Knuckles scratched his head and mused. "So we're dealing with a computer expert as well..."  
  
Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "Great, more waiting...Anthony may be in Minneapolis for a LONG time..."  
  
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"...and then Anthony came to our underground city and told us Miles and Amy were alive. When I finally saw her again...it was the greatest moment of my life."  
  
Mary gave a caring glance towards her daughter after saying that while she, Amy, Anthony, and his parents were sitting down to dinner. She and Anthony's mother dominated most of the conversation...Anthony was too busy blushing from the accolades and Amy was busy picking at her food, lost in her own thoughts.  
  
"I must say, Mrs. Bault..."  
  
"Mary, please call me Toni," Anthony's mother replied.  
  
"Alright, Toni. As I was saying, your son has really given us a lot of hope recently, and has done more than we could have possibly imagined. I...even owe him for Amy's happiness, and recently for her life..."  
  
Anthony scratched his read nervously out of embarrassment as his mother spoke up. "Yes...I was told by Princess Sally about how Anthony had comforted Amy during a couple of difficult times for her. Amy and I also comforted each other during Anthony's hospital stay. I guess she wanted to thank Anthony through me for all he had done..." Toni then looked at Anthony, whose face was beet red by now, and giggled. "I think we'd better stop now, Anthony looks really embarrassed right now from all our talking."  
  
"THANK YOU!" Anthony said. "I hate being the center of attention...even if I deserve the attention!" He then turned towards Amy. "Ames...you've been quiet all this time. You alright?" Amy responded by pushing away from the table and walking away.  
  
Anthony sighed and shook his head as Mary went to check on her daughter. "Still shaken from recent events," Anthony explained to his parents. "Understandable I guess...considering what almost happened."  
  
"Tony," Anthony's father, Bill, replied. "Why don't you talk to Amy? It might help her."  
  
"Dad, she has her mother now. She doesn't need me anymore..."  
  
"I disagree," Toni said, interrupting Anthony. "She still looks up to you as more than a friend and could use your help coping..."  
  
"Yeah, but...there's something you don't know about Amy," Anthony said. "Amy tends to latch on emotionally to anyone she looks up to. It started with Sonic when he brought her from the ruins of her hometown to Knothole after it was destroyed. She was hoping to make Sonic her boyfriend, but became depressed when she found out he was already taken by Sally. Later she did the same with Knuckles...but he was too concerned at the time with guarding the Master Emerald to be involved in a relationship. I think she's on friendly terms with Tails now. But...after the events in Knothole where I had comforted her, she admitted to me she looked up to me like a father. This worries me..."  
  
"Why?" Toni said, surprised by this last statement. "Tony...she was just showing her gratitude for helping her through some difficult times..."  
  
"Yes," Anthony said, "I understand that. But, as I said, she doesn't need me anymore. She has her mother, her REAL family now, and to continue to latch on to me like that is...not normal for a girl her age, at least it doesn't SEEM normal to me. The best thing for me to do is to leave the two of them alone to reconnect as a family. Besides, after I calm down a little bit from what happened, I intend to help with the investigation. I feel I'm needed there more."  
  
Anthony then noticed both of his parents were shaking their heads in disbelief. "What? What did I say?"  
  
"Tony..." Toni started, "are you listening to yourself? You aren't sounding like the same person who helped Amy on Mobius...you are sounding like someone impatient to get to his next adventure. They have plenty of people doing the investigation right now, and Amy could use as much support to help her through this, so you're needed here more." She then looked Anthony straight in the eye and continued. "Besides, Tony...her love for you is perfectly normal. She sees you as a really close friend, someone she can turn to for support for things such as this, and that's not going to change even though she has her real family now."  
  
"Besides," Bill said, adding to the conversation, "if you are going to be these worlds' Gamemaster, you have to understand not all heroic deeds require fighting. Right now, Amy needs the Anthony Bault that helped her emotionally in Knothole, the hero that existed before the title."  
  
Anthony sat back in thought at this. "I see...you're probably right. I guess I WAS hoping for action as soon as I was better...just not this. I wonder though..."  
  
Before his parents could ask what, one of the portal guards called from the basement. "Mr. Bault! You have a visitor!"  
  
"Excuse me, 'rents," Anthony said, getting up from the table, "duty calls." Anthony then walked downstairs and saw Tails waiting for him.  
  
"Hi, Anthony," Tails said.  
  
"Hi, Tails. Any news on investigation so far?"  
  
"None. We figure someone who knows Julian Kintobor's schedule was involved, which narrows it down to the palace's inner circle. Unfortunately, no one we interrogated showed any sign of hiding any knowledge about the trap. I even used my powers and, with Lutherain's help, sensed their thoughts. Still nothing. Also, whoever did it seems to have erased the information on how to make the trap from our database to cover his tracks."  
  
"Hmmm...looks like this will take a while..." Anthony mused. "Say Tails, as long as you're here, why don't you see Amy? She's feeling kind of down right now and I'm sure she'll appreciate your visit."  
  
"Actually..." Tails said, then stuck his head in the transit gate leading to the Earth/Mobius portal. After bringing it back out, several individuals came out of the gate. Namely, the Koopa kids, Nina, and Knuckles's sister Chuckles. "There are quite a few others who want to see her as well."  
  
Anthony smiled upon seeing the group. "Alright, let's go see her..." He then led the group up to where Amy and Mary were and Amy was more than happy to see them. Wendy, Nina, and Chuckles even gave Amy sisterly hugs...  
  
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That night, after everyone in the household had gone to bed, Anthony found himself experiencing a nightmare. He saw himself trapped at the bottom of a pit similar to the one he rescued Amy from, and watched in horror as a steel grate appeared above and the pit started filling with water. As he struggled to get out, he found himself wishing the Gamemaster would show up. It was then he woke up, not afraid, but confused...  
  
"What the? Why was I wishing for myself to show up in that dream? It was if..." Suddenly he realized that he wasn't experiencing his own nightmare, but was psionically viewing someone else's. "Dear God...AMY'S having the nightmare!"  
  
Then, almost on cue, Anthony heard Amy wake up with a quiet gasp, and then listened as Mary tried to calm her down as she started sobbing in fear. Anthony wished there was some way to make her feel better, unfortunately he was unsure what to do. The next thing he heard was Amy telling Mary she was going to get a drink of water. However, instead of going to the nearby bathroom, she started walking downstairs, an action Anthony could plainly see from his bedroom door. Anthony decided to see what was going on.  
  
Amy ended up going to the family room and was staring out one of the windows, seemingly deep in her own thoughts. Anthony walked up to her and sensed intense feelings of fear.  
  
"Amy," Anthony quietly said, startling the young hedgehog, "if you're too scared to sleep because of that nightmare, why didn't you tell your mother?"  
  
"I didn't want her to worry," Amy whispered so she wouldn't wake anyone up. "How did you know about...?"  
  
"I picked it up psionically in my sleep...almost thought it was my nightmare for a while." Anthony said.  
  
"Oh..." Amy said, then turned back toward the window.  
  
Anthony realized he needed to do something then and there, even if it meant having Amy latch on to him like Tails did to Sally. "Amy, come here," he whispered, then he sat on a couch and motioned for her to sit next to him, which she did.  
  
"Amy...I know you were scared about what almost happened to you, I would be too if it happened to me. But...you are safe now and no one is going to let what almost happened to you happen again. Not your friends, not your mother...and certainly not me."  
  
"I know..." Amy said, then started to tear up. "It's just...I can't help..."  
  
Anthony placed an arm around Amy and hugged her close to try to comfort her. "I know you can't help being scared, especially considering what you've been through. But that's what your friends and especially your mother are for, to help you through this. We won't let anything happen, and that's a promise!"  
  
Amy took in these words and laid against Anthony, letting a few tears fall as Anthony continued to comfort her. Almost instinctively, Anthony began rocking Amy back and forth in an attempt to lull her to sleep. Eventually, as Anthony hoped, Amy fell back asleep.  
  
Anthony carefully picked up the young hedgehog so not to wake her and carried her back up to her bedroom. Mary watched as Anthony brought her up. "Anthony?" she asked quietly. "What happened? Why was Amy downstairs?"  
  
Anthony carried Amy over to the bed and laid her down. "She was still scared after a nightmare she had and didn't want to go back to sleep. I managed to calm her down though. She should sleep peacefully now."  
  
Mary nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Anthony. I...can't tell you..."  
  
"Let's not talk about it now, Mary. It's late. You just have a good night, alright?"  
  
"Alright. Good night Anthony, and thank you again."  
  
Anthony returned to his room as Mary placed the covers back over Amy. She then kissed Amy on the forehead and whispered, "May Destiny grant you pleasant dreams from now on, my princess..."  
  
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The next morning, Anthony woke up early, showered, and dressed before anyone else got up. He then walked down to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee for everyone. As the pot finished brewing, Mary entered the kitchen area.  
  
"Good morning Mary," Anthony said, handing her a cup of coffee. "Did you and Amy have a peaceful night's rest the rest of the night?"  
  
"Yes," Mary said, taking the coffee, "in fact she's still sleeping as we speak." She paused a bit before continuing. "I...can't thank you enough, Anthony. Not just for comforting Amy last night, but for everything. Reuniting us, rescuing her from that trap, comforting her in Knothole during those two difficult times...freeing my people...it's strange, one human caused so much pain, and another is helping to relieve it."  
  
"Mary...please stop." Anthony said. "Freeing Mobius was the joint effort of all five worlds and trying to restore it is still a joint effort, not just my doing. As for helping Amy...there's no need to thank me. That I was happy to do. At the time, she had no one to help her like Princess Sally helped Tails, so it was the least I could do." Anthony then took a more serious tone. "I suppose you heard how she tried to latch on emotionally to Sonic and others."  
  
Mary nodded. "Yes...and I sometimes I was around to help her through this and yet..." She looked up at Anthony before continuing. "...when I consider what you've done for her, I could almost swear I see her father's kind spirit in you."  
  
Anthony was surprised by this comment. He then noticed Mary starting to have tears well in her eyes and realized that she was remembering her husband. He embraced the elder hedgehog to try to comfort her, even hearing her whisper a thank you from doing so. The event was witnessed by Anthony's father as he entered the kitchen.  
  
"Tony...what's wrong with Mary?"  
  
"Nothing," Anthony said. "She was thanking me for helping comfort Amy after she had a nightmare last night and said I reminded her of Amy's father. I think she's remembering those days..."  
  
Bill nodded in understanding. By this time, she had finally calmed down and was wiping away her tears, and ended up startled after seeing him.  
  
"Oh, Bill! I didn't..."  
  
"It's alright Mary, I understand," Bill said. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes...just remembering some happier times..." Mary said.  
  
Amy was the next to enter the kitchen area. "Good morning, Amy," Anthony said. "Feeling alright this morning?"  
  
"Yes," Amy said, then motioned for Anthony to come closer. As he bent down to Amy's level, Amy hugged him tightly and whispered a thank you to him.  
  
"Hey, it was nothing, Ames," Anthony said. Mary smiled upon seeing this exchange, then Anthony continued. "So, do you feel any better from when you first came here?"  
  
"Definitely," Amy said, releasing the hug.  
  
"Good," Anthony said as he got up. "But just so you know, I don't want you getting a present for me because of this. That's how this trouble began and I'm already receiving more than my share of praise from Arcadia, and I don't deserve most of it!"  
  
"Aw..." Amy said, disappointed. "That's too bad. You know, I was going to get you a Mobian author's mystery novel when I was heading to Minoc, seeing all those mystery books you brought with you to Mobius. By the way, who is, um, Poy-rat? Poy-rot?"  
  
"It's pronounced, 'Pwa-row'," Anthony explained. "Poirot is one of Agatha Christie's best characters, a Belgian detective who manages to solve difficult crimes using just 'his little gray cells', as he calls them. These stories always have some type of plot twist near the end, especially in 'Peril at End House' where..." Anthony paused as a look of realization appeared on his face. "Oh my God...OF COURSE!!!!"  
  
Everyone else in the room was shocked at this outburst. "Tony, what is it?" Bill asked.  
  
"I think I just figured out who set that trap in Mobius!" Anthony exclaimed, then ran upstairs. When he came back down, he was in his armor.  
  
"Where are you going?" Amy asked. "Back to Mobius?"  
  
"Yes...I need to talk to the Heroes Council," Anthony said, then quickly kissed Amy on the cheek. "Thank you, Ames! You may have just helped me figure out who was responsible." He then ran downstairs towards the portal room.  
  
"You're welcome?" Amy said, and she and the others looked at each other with confused looks.  
  
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"Nothing?"  
  
The Heroes Council had assembled in one of the palace's meeting rooms and were listening to Dr. Light's findings. Unfortunately...  
  
"Nothing," Dr. Light explained. "Whoever erased the records of the entry into the database made sure to cover all his tracks. We're not going to figure out who's responsible this way."  
  
"Man!" Sonic exclaimed, showing his disappointment. "This guy could've made a good Freedom Fighter if he wasn't so hateful!"  
  
"No kidding!" Zelda said, then sighed in disappointment. "Now I'm wishing we hadn't sent Anthony away. We could use..."  
  
Suddenly they heard one of the guards outside say, "Sir, what are you doing back? Sir? Where are you going?" The next thing the entire group saw was Anthony burst into the room.  
  
"Guys...oh good, you're all here!" Anthony said upon entering. "I think I..."  
  
"Anthony?!?" Peach said, interrupting him. "What are you doing back? I thought you were going to visit your family for a while?"  
  
"I plan on returning, but I needed to talk to you guys! I think I figured out who has it in for Julian...or at least narrowed it down to two."  
  
The entire group was surprised by this statement, then Bass spoke up. "Okay...explain to us HOW you were able to figure it out when you weren't even here for the investigations and when we couldn't uncover anything."  
  
"Simple...Amy gave me the answer," Anthony said, then noticing the confused looks on the group's faces. "OK, I'll explain. This morning Amy mentioned how when she was going to get a mystery book for me from Minoc Grove after seeing my collection of Poirot novels. That reminded me of something...In one of those novels, the murderer turned out to be...someone who was thought to be the intended victim!"  
  
The group was still confused, then Mario spoke up. "Mama mia! Then you mean one of the people that could be responsible is...?"  
  
"Yes, Mario. I mean that one of the people who could've set that trap is...Julian himself! He still blames himself for what happened to Mobius and probably meant to commit suicide in this manner. Appropriate, considering it was originally used as a punishment for capital crimes!"  
  
The group understood what Anthony was saying, then Sonic spoke up. "Whoa, hold it! You said there were two, who's the other guy?"  
  
"Reginald Snout, and this represents a second possibility. Reginald was angry with what had happened on Mobius and probably still blames his uncle for it. Not just for what happened to the people, but for how he was treated as Snivley. Plus, if what I read in the comic storylines and fan-fiction are correct, he's also good with computers."  
  
Everyone present nodded in understanding at what Anthony was saying, then Zelda spoke up. "Okay, we'd better check this out. Tails, we'll need your Descendancy Powers again to check out Reginald."  
  
"Got it," Tails said, activating the powers in question.  
  
Zelda then turned Anthony. "Anthony, will you be able to check Julian with your abilities?"  
  
"Yeah..." Anthony said, then addressing the entire group. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine now. Oh, and...thanks for worrying about me. You did the right thing sending me to Earth to calm down."  
  
Zelda smiled at this and kissed Anthony lightly on the cheek. "It's alright. We were just concerned about you like you were for Amy."  
  
"I know...and I appreciate it," Anthony said.  
  
Sonic then spoke up. "Uh, Zelda, Anthony? We're waiting!"  
  
Anthony shot a glance at Sonic. "Sonic...if I had a Mobium for EVERY time you've said that, I could probably buy this palace and retire off the rest. So STIFLE IT!" The group laughed at this exchange then left the room to find Julian and Reginald. Sonic was mumbling under his breath the entire way.  
  
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Reginald Snout was busy checking something on one of the palace's library computers. With recent events taking place with the rebuilding, he decided to check on what could be done about a kingdom wide network connected to the other worlds of Arcadia.  
  
"Yo, Reg! We need to talk!"  
  
Reginald turned around upon hearing Sonic's voice and saw he was not alone. He was flanked by the three herobots, Megaman, Bass, and Protoman, as well as Tails, who was currently in his Magi robes and had Lutherain on his shoulder.  
  
"Oh dear..." Reginald said. "I assume this is about the missing file on how to create 'The Soaking'?"  
  
Protoman spoke up. "It's more than that. We were wondering what else you know about the trap, and if you had any suspicions."  
  
"Well," Reginald said, looking nervously at Tails who appeared to be looking at him intently, "all I know is what I've been hearing lately. Is it true that whoever set the trap meant it for my uncle?"  
  
"WE'LL ask the questions, Reg," Bass replied. "But to satisfy that query, yes!"  
  
"Hmmm..." Reginald said. "I'm sorry, I wish I could help you, but I know nothing more than what I've heard."  
  
Tails then spoke up. "Then why do I sense you're hiding something? You're nervous about something, and the feelings of fear I sense coming from you is intense."  
  
"Er...well...I guess I'm just nervous that whoever's after my uncle may come after me next."  
  
"It's not just that," Tails said, then turning to the group. "Guys, he is DEFINITELY hiding something!"  
  
Sonic then went up to Reginald and grabbed him by the collar. "Alright, Reg...spill it! What do you know?!? Are you the one who set that trap?!?"  
  
"No, I swear!" Reginald looked even more frightened than he ever was before, and then broke down. "ALRIGHT! I'll tell you! I was told to erase the file by the person who set the trap! He wouldn't take no for an answer!"  
  
"Who, Reg?" Sonic asked with more intensity. "WHO?!?"  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The Mario Brothers, Link, Zelda, Peach, and Anthony went to see where Julian was. He was still in his room and was currently talking to David. Both the Kintobors were surprised to see the group come in. "Guys!" David said upon seeing them, "What's going on? Why are you here?"  
  
Anthony took the initiative. "We need to talk to your father, Davie. You can stay if you want, but we need to ask him about the trap."  
  
David was about to object when Julian spoke up. "It's alright, son. I'll be fine." Julian then turned towards the group. "What do you need to ask me?"  
  
"We were a wondering if you knew of a anyone who still hates you," Mario said. "Right now, we're having a hard time finding anyone who fits that description, since most of a the people seem to have forgiven you."  
  
Julian took a thoughtful pose and considered the question for a while before answering. "I'm not sure...personally I thought the entire planet still sees me as the enemy. But...if I was to single anyone out, it would be that skunk, Geoffrey St. John. He has given me bad looks on several occasions, despite the king's warnings. But, I doubt he was responsible. He doesn't seem to be the type to pull a stunt like that."  
  
Anthony was concentrating hard on Julian while he was saying this. He sensed there was something Julian was hiding, sensing both fear and guilt, but couldn't quite figure it out, thinking the guilt could be residual from his feelings about what he did as Robotnik. He was about to ask another question after Julian was finished talking when he received a telepathic message from Tails. *Anthony! Reginald did erase the records, but he didn't set the trap!*  
  
*Who did?* Anthony telepathically replied back.  
  
*Let's just say...you owe Amy!*  
  
Anthony understood and then asked Julian another question. "Julian, you said you can't think of anyone who would want to kill you?"  
  
"No one...even though I expected the entire planet to want to see me dead," Julian said.  
  
"Dad!" David said. "Stop talking like that! The people forgave you...phrack, the KING forgave you!"  
  
Anthony then continued. "Not even...yourself, Julian?"  
  
David and Julian were shocked by this question. Anthony then continued further. "Julian...your nephew just admitted you told him to erase the records. It's obvious you wanted to use that trap to kill yourself. Now the question...why? Why didn't you admit that you set that trap?"  
  
David looked nervously at Julian. "D-Dad? Is he right?"  
  
Julian fell into a chair and sobbed loudly, showing that what Anthony said was right. David then looked angrily at Anthony. "Damn you, Bault!"  
  
"David, calm down!" Anthony said. "I'm guessing he was ashamed that his actions nearly cost another innocent life." Anthony turned back toward Julian. "Am I right, Julian?"  
  
Julian nodded as he continued sobbing. He then looked up towards the group. "Every day I look in the mirror, I don't see the man I used to be. I see the tyrant that caused all the pain of the past ten years. I couldn't live with myself with what I have done, even if it wasn't my mind that was in control it was these hands that did the deeds." He then turned towards David, who by now was tearing up himself. "But, when I heard the pit was triggered and heard how one family was nearly torn apart, I realized how David would feel without me. That returned my reason to live, but I didn't want anyone to know what I had done. So, I hid the fact I built the trap and had Reginald fix the records to hide my access of them."  
  
Everyone in Anthony's group looked at each other, wondering what to do next. Anthony then walked up to them as David tried to comfort his father. "Guys, tell the king what we just uncovered. Also...tell him not to be too hard on Julian." The group nodded in understanding, and Peach and Zelda were wiping away some of their own tears from what they heard Julian said.  
  
As they walked out of the room and headed towards the throne room, Link noticed Anthony was walking out of the palace. "Anthony, where are you going?"  
  
"Back to my family, Link," Anthony said. "There's something else I need to do..."  
  
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As Anthony walked upstairs from the portal room in his house, he was met by Amy, Mary, and his parents. All four of them had a confused look on their faces.  
  
"Anthony, what happened?" Amy said.  
  
Anthony sighed and told them all that happened with Julian and Reginald. All present were shocked by what they were told.  
  
"Poor man..." Mary said. "To have to go through what he's going through..."  
  
"I know," Anthony said. "Even though I managed to remove the Robotnik personality from his mind, the Julian personality is still haunted by what happened. Hopefully, after the recent events, he'll finally get help to cope."  
  
Before anyone else could say another word, one of the portal guards called out. "Mr. Bault, you have a visitor. Prince Elias of Mobotropolis."  
  
Anthony ran down to the portal room and saw Elias there. He seemed to have news. "Ah, Gamemaster. Just so you know, Father has been told of what happened and has decided to go easy on Julian as you suggested. His son, David, is also going to find some professional psychiatric help through your country's government."  
  
"Good," Anthony said. "The man didn't deserve to be treated as a criminal."  
  
"I agree. As you told him before, he was as much a victim as we were."  
  
"Thank you your highness. I'll be back in Mobius shortly."  
  
Elias took his leave as Anthony ran back upstairs to tell the others what had happened.  
  
"Well," Mary said, "now that this terrible affair is over with, Amy and I should probably head back to Mobius."  
  
"What's your hurry?" Anthony asked. "You packed for a week's stay, so there's no reason you should return right away. Besides," Anthony then turned towards Amy, "I was hoping to show Amy here the sights of my home city."  
  
"Really?" Amy asked. "That's awesome! Mom?"  
  
"Alright," Mary said.  
  
"Good!" Anthony said. "Amy, why don't you get cleaned up a bit, and I'll take you out to one such sight?"  
  
Amy started walking upstairs with Mary following close behind. Anthony's parents then looked at Anthony with a strange look. "Anthony..." Toni said, "I thought you were going to distance yourself from Amy?"  
  
"I changed my mind. After I comforted her from that nightmare last night, I got to thinking that you were right, her feelings towards me aren't going to change. Besides...it's kind of nice having someone look up to me like Amy does...not as a hero or celebrity like most of Arcadia does, but as a close friend." Anthony then smiled what could pass as an evil grin. "Also, she was brought here to be cheered up, and I know the perfect way to do that..."  
  
"What's that?" Bill asked.  
  
"Well, let's just say both she and I should enjoy the looks on some of the store owner's faces when I take her to my favorite gaming stores at the Mall of America..."  
  
His parents laughed upon hearing that, and Anthony could swear he heard Amy laughing from upstairs as well... 


	4. Valor

Chapter 4 - Valor  
  
More than a week had passed since the events regarding Julian. Most of the work in Mobotropolis was complete. Several buildings, including stores, restaurants, and other city centers had been completed. Also, quite a few homes were built to house the people of Mobotropolis, and more and more people starting moving into their new homes. One such house stood apart from them all, however...  
  
It was small in terms of space it took up in the area, but was three floors high. On the door, a familiar star-shaped symbol could be seen adorning it. It's intended occupant was naturally surprised...  
  
"You guys! I can't accept THIS!" Anthony said upon being told the house was his.  
  
"Sure a you can!" Mario spoke up. "Mobius insisted that you receive some type of special honor for your deeds here, and since you didn't a want a statue..."  
  
Anthony held his head in his hands and shook his head in disbelief. "So, I get a house instead?"  
  
"That's right!" Mario replied.  
  
"And I suppose I can't just refuse and say 'But my home is EARTH, guys!'?"  
  
"You could," Link said, coming up behind them, "but then you'll be mobbed by the entire contingent of the workforce for lack of gratitude. I believe the phrase I heard you use one time was, 'Does the name Custer ring a bell?'."  
  
Anthony sighed. "Alright...I suppose I can accept this. But, God, is moving in going to be Hell!"  
  
Protoman was next to speak. "Not necessarily, Anthony. Check it out!"  
  
Anthony looked in the direction where Protoman was pointing and saw several workers coming towards the house with several boxes and furniture. He recognized the furniture as his own from Earth.  
  
"And...you arranged this without me knowing, HOW?" Anthony asked.  
  
Protoman smiled. "Let's just say your parents are REALLY good at keeping secrets."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Hours later, the house Anthony almost refused looked more like a home he could enjoy. Especially considering what the workers had done...  
  
"You should check out the third floor, Anth," Sonic said as he led Anthony upstairs. "It is way past cool and PERFECT for you!"  
  
Sonic opened the door to the third floor and showed Anthony what was done. Anthony was shocked to see what they had done. The room was set up like the game room that was set up in the palace, but also had four computers that were set up for network gaming as well as a table for any other type of gaming as well.  
  
"Nice!!!" Anthony said. "My gaming friends on Earth would give their right eye for a setup like this! Of course...they'd also give their right eye just to GET to Mobius like I did..."  
  
"Glad you like it," Megaman said, coming up from behind them.  
  
The group then headed down to the main floor of the house. "We'd better take our leave now so you can check out your new home, Anthony," Megaman said.  
  
"Yeah, we'll catch you later, Anth," Sonic said. "And...welcome home!"  
  
Anthony said his goodbyes to the group as they left and headed into the living area, where he immediately plopped down in a couch located in front of his TV.  
  
"Home..." Anthony thought to himself. "Never thought I'd get my first house out of state, let alone on another world altogether! Of course, I also never thought I'd be in the world of a video game!" Anthony let himself drift into a peaceful nap as these thoughts lingered on his mind.  
  
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"I wish you could see Mobotropolis, Mother..."  
  
Sally was visiting the Knothole Memorial to speak, spiritually, with her mother. With the events taking place on Mobius as of late, this was one of the rare times she had to pay her respects.  
  
"The other worlds of Arcadia have all pitched in to restore our city to the way it was before Robotnik. It now almost looks like Robotnik never existed, even though the emotional wounds of that war still exist in many of our people. I also wish you could have gotten a chance to meet Anthony, the new Gamemaster. He's even helped reunite a few families that were separated, including Elias and I to Father. I wish..."  
  
Sally then began to choke up, the emotion of missing her mother becoming too great to bear. Thankfully, someone had arrived when this happened...  
  
"Sally?" King Acorn said upon seeing Sally in this state. Sally immediately fell into his arms and began to cry loudly, releasing all of her grief. King Acorn did nothing but continue to hold her as she cried on his shoulder. He gave a glance towards where his wife's grave was and began to tear up himself. Eventually, the king helped his daughter back towards Mobotropolis.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The intense sensations of sorrow were enough to rouse the new Gamemaster of Arcadia from his nap. He awoke from his couch and ran outside to see Sally and her father walking from the Knothole Memorial, and Sally was still crying as the two walked towards the castle.  
  
"Sally..." Anthony thought to himself and sighed. "I wish I could help you with your grief, but there are limits to even the Descendancy Powers." He then walked up to the two of them to see what comfort he could provide.  
  
"Oh, Gamemaster..." King Acorn said. "I'm...just bringing Sally back home. She's..."  
  
"I understand, your majesty," Anthony said, then turned toward Sally and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Your highness, I...wish I knew what I could do to make you feel better..."  
  
Sally looked up to the human and tearfully said, "Just...the fact that you're concerned is enough, Anthony. Thank you."  
  
Anthony then kneeled down and said, "Need an additional shoulder to cry on?" She immediately accepted, embracing the human and whispering a thank you. During this exchange, Bookshire ran up.  
  
"Oh, your majesty...I'm sorry, I'm interrupting something..."  
  
"It's alright, Bookshire," King Acorn said. "What is it?"  
  
"Well, there's something I need to discuss...about Packbell."  
  
Both Sally and Anthony heard this and stood up to face Bookshire. "What about Packbell?" Sally asked, regaining her composure and wiping away some tears.  
  
"Well..." Bookshire said, "out of curiosity, I checked the Earth 'website' that belonged to the author that wrote about me. It turned out he wrote about Packbell as well...and included some information about him that might be useful."  
  
"That's definitely worth checking out!" Anthony said. "Lead the way, Bookshire."  
  
The four then walked towards where Bookshire's new office was located. As they walked, Anthony turned back towards Sally and asked, "You sure you're up to this, Sal? Your father and I can check this out if you need more time..."  
  
"I'll be fine, Anthony. Thank you for being concerned though," Sally said. As Anthony turned back towards where Bookshire was going, Sally then said. "Mother would have definitely wanted to meet you..."  
  
Anthony was momentarily shocked by this statement, then shook his head. "I'm never going to get used to all this..." Anthony thought to himself.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"When I was checking this website," Bookshire explained, "I noticed there was a section that contained dossiers for the three characters that David Pistone 'created'. They included myself, of course, Sandra Nightweaver, and Packbell. Upon reading my dossier, I discovered it was very accurate, even down to which degrees I had earned. Guessing it would be just as accurate, I decided to check Packbell's dossier and discovered something."  
  
"What did you find?" King Acorn asked.  
  
"Apparently...Packbell has his own base located in the northern mountains. The site wasn't specific where it was...but if the site was accurate about me, it's definitely worth checking out those mountains to find that base."  
  
Anthony looked concerned. "I remember reading that. Packbell probably transferred his electronic consciousness to that location after I released the Final Power. There's also another reason why we'll want to find that base..."  
  
"What?" Sally asked, noticing Anthony had a look of concern.  
  
Anthony sighed and then explained. "In Pistone's stories, he mentioned Packbell having his own roboticized citizens in his possession. He...also mentioned experiments done there on those citizens..."  
  
Somber looks appeared on the Mobians present, then King Acorn spoke up. "Then it's settled. We must check out those mountains and find that base. Gamemaster, it looks like you want in."  
  
"Definitely," Anthony said. "If there are still people to rescue, then I definitely want to help."  
  
"Very well. In that case, you better get the Heroes Council together and finalize a plan. Tell me when you're ready."  
  
Anthony nodded and went to go find the others. Bookshire then spoke up. "Um...your majesty, are you sure those roboticized citizens are still alive? After all...we DID see Packbell ready to exterminate all the organic forces at the Battle of Mobius."  
  
"We have to keep positive, Bookshire," Sally spoke up. "After all, he may just want those robotcizied people around so he has someone to lead."  
  
Bookshire nodded in understanding, then turned back towards the computer terminal...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Well, that's the gist of it," Anthony concluded after reporting to the Heroes Council, all of whom were in a meeting room in the castle. "Sounds like this will be a recon and rescue mission, so we'll need the stealthiest people."  
  
"Then count me in," Bass spoke up. "This black armor wasn't built just for looks!"  
  
"Alright, any other volunteers?"  
  
"Count me in, Anth!" Sonic spoke up. "I've run more stealth missions than anyone else."  
  
"I'm in too," Tails piped up. "We may need the Descendancy Powers to free the minds of those people."  
  
"Agreed." Anthony said. "Alright, I think I have enough. The rest of you should wait on the outskirts of the base to provide backup when necessary."  
  
The entire group nodded in agreement and went out to find the king. They were soon met by Doctor Light.  
  
"Ah, there you all are," Light started. "We just got back the probe data from the northern mountains and found the base. I have the schematics right here." Light then handed the group a printout and a computer disk with the layout. "Unfortunately, we have a problem..."  
  
"What kind of a problem?" Luigi asked.  
  
"A preliminary readout of the base's defenses shows the base's sensors are set up to detect any type of organics within 5 miles of the base, but the settings are such that roboticized citizens aren't included."  
  
Megaman was confused. "How did the probe know this? I didn't think it was that accurate."  
  
"The probe picked up a video transmission of blaster fire in one sector within 5 miles the base. It went to that area and found...a non-antropomorphic mouse destroyed by laser fire."  
  
"Man..." Sonic said, surprised. "That's some sensitive sensors..."  
  
"Yes. When the video feed went near the base, it saw there were some roboticized citizens there. Apparently, the sensors were set up to not recognize them. The last transmission the probe gave before being destroyed was Packbell's voice saying, 'That thing must be one of Doctor Light's little toys, destroy it!'"  
  
"Looks like Packbell's been reading up on us," Link said with a dark tone. "He might just recognize Bass or any of the other bots if they go up there."  
  
"I know..." Light said with a slightly depressed tone. "That's why a rescue mission might be next to impossible. Unless..."  
  
Anthony sensed a bit of fear in Light's tone, but not from the mission. "Unless what?"  
  
"Bookshire believes there may be a way for one to sneak in without attracting too much attention. But only if...that person roboticizes him or herself."  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!?" The entire group yelled out, shocked at what was said.  
  
"Look, Bookshire believes we can sneak in one roboticized individual to examine the base without being detected. We can then derobotoicize him or her once the work is done. Naturally, we intend to use Kintobor mode robotization..."  
  
"Doc, no offense to the man who helped create the Deroboticizer," Sonic said, "but HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!? I did NOT fight Buttnik those past ten years just so we can use the method that enslaved us to run recon. It's crazy! It's wacked out! It's..."  
  
"...just what might be needed to get them out, Sonic!" Anthony spoke up. "I'm willing to do it, Doc."  
  
A gasp went through the entire group, then Zelda spoke up. "Anthony, no. We can't have you risking your life like this. You're the only one with Sir Eric's powers and..."  
  
"I was willing to give my life at the Battle of Mobius when I released the Final Power and I'm willing to do it again. Besides, I have a plan in mind that should minimize the risk..."  
  
The group still had a look of concern and disbelief on their faces, but decided to still listen as Anthony explained his plan...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"A friend?!? You're going to go in as Packbell's FRIEND?!?"  
  
Anthony was explaining the plan to King Acorn and Bookshire. Naturally the king was finding the whole thing hard to believe.  
  
"Anthony," the king continued, "when I heard about Bookshire's plan to roboticize someone to run recon, I was actually considering it since we do have a way to reverse it. But...to go in as Packbell's friend to be?"  
  
"It should work," Anthony said. "Packbell seems to like robots as friends more than organics, seeing as how he was willing to rebuild Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts like he did. Didn't even like Robotnik in Pistone's stories, just pretended to be with him to get what he wants. If he believes I was a robot built before he was, and who left Buttnik's graces to go out on his own, I should earn his trust and be able to run recon without having to hide in the shadows."  
  
King Acorn pondered this, knowing well it would mean risking the only descendant of Sir Eric with the Powers. He also knew that Anthony was willing to die at the Battle of Mobius...  
  
"Alright...I'll allow it. I'm guessing the Heroes Council went along with this?"  
  
"Reluctantly, yes. They'll be on the outskirts ready to assist when necessary and lead any roboticized citizens to safety if I can get them out."  
  
"Good," Acorn said, then turned towards Bookshire. "Bookshire, Anthony's in your hands now."  
  
Bookshire and Anthony left the king's chambers and headed towards Bookshire's office. King Acorn had one final thought as they left.  
  
"May Destiny guide you in your venture, Gamemaster..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A few minutes later, Anthony found himself stripped to his undergarments and strapped to a table within the glass chamber of a Roboticizer. Bookshire, Chuck, and Doctor Light were all present to make sure nothing went wrong.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Gamemaster?" Light said. "You don't have to go through with this if you don't want to..."  
  
"This is our best chance of getting those roboticized citizens out of Packbell's lair," Anthony said. "Besides, the process IS reversible now and...it might be interesting to see myself as a robot."  
  
"You wouldn't say that if you'd been through what I've been through, sonny..." Chuck said as he made some adjustments to the machinery.  
  
Outside the office, looking through a window at the process, were Mario, Link, Sonic, and Megaman. All of them had looks of concern on their faces, mostly for the safety of their friend. Sonic was taking this the hardest...  
  
"I can't believe he actually agreed to do this," Sonic said. "Why in Destiny's name...?"  
  
"He wants to help those people, Sonic," Link said. "Something tells me his safety is the last thing on his mind."  
  
Suddenly, Bookshire spoke up from inside the office. "Everything's ready. Anthony?"  
  
"Throw the switch, Doc."  
  
Sonic turned away from the window. "I can't watch this..." Mario put a hand on Sonic's shoulder in understanding and to try to comfort the hedgehog.  
  
Almost immediately afterward, the room started glowing with a bright blue light as the Robotcizer was activated. Anthony grit his teeth as the process started up, and then let out a scream of agony as the process was taking place. Sonic winced at this and the other three could only stare at what was happening. Soon the light dimmed and the all noise stopped.  
  
Mario, Link, and Megaman could only stare at the end result for a while, then Mario turned toward Sonic and noticed that the hedgehog was beginning to tear up. Doctor Light's voice was then heard. "Process complete...all vitals stable and systems functioning."  
  
Anthony's voice, or rather a digitized version of it, was then heard. "That...was painful...whoa! This is a weird sensation...I can't feel myself talk. I...can't feel anything!" Anthony then gasped as he noticed his body. "Get me out of this device and to a mirror. I want to see myself."  
  
The three doctors removed Anthony from the Roboticizer and helped him towards the door. "You'll need some time to sort out your new signals, Anthony, so we'll help you." Chuck said. "Believe me, I should know..."  
  
The group, except for Sonic, watched as the three doctors helped an adult human sized robot out of the office towards a bathroom where a mirror was located. Link was fighting hard not to throw up from what he just saw, but failed and ended up throwing up in a nearby trash can. Sonic was still not looking and looked down at his shoes, trying to keep in his emotions about what just happened.  
  
When Anthony entered the bathroom, he could only look in awe at his new form. It resembled what his tech armor looked like activated, except a dull gray in color and more articulated. What shocked him the most was his head. Instead of hair, he saw a metal helm. Instead of ears, he saw two receptors. His face was also reduced to nothing more than what looked like dark goggles and a round speaker on a featureless form.  
  
"Damn..." Anthony said, looking at his new body.  
  
"How do you feel, Anthony?" Light asked.  
  
"Fine, considering..." Anthony said. "But...man...this is both amazing and frightening at the same time..."  
  
"At least you still have control, Anthony..." Chuck said.  
  
Anthony nodded, and then wondered something. He reached a hand out towards a canister that was on the counter. Suddenly, the canister flew towards his hand, much to the amazement of the three doctors present.  
  
"What the...?" Bookshire said. "How?"  
  
"My brain is still organic," Anthony said, "so it looks like my psionics still work. This could work more to our advantage." He then turned his head towards the exit of the bathroom towards where the group was watching the procedure. "Crying?"  
  
"Crying?" Light repeated.  
  
Anthony walked out and saw Mario and Megaman trying to comfort Sonic, who had broken down crying from what happened and was kneeling on the ground. Link was still looking a little green, almost matching his tunic.  
  
Chuck ran out and saw the same scene. "Great Destiny...my nephew must be remembering my robotization! He was present when it happened..."  
  
Anthony nodded in understanding and walked over to Sonic, now able to control his body now that he had figured his signals out quickly. Anthony then knelt down to try to comfort Sonic, but Sonic turned his head away from Anthony as soon as he did so. Chuck then knelt down and cupped a paw under Sonic's chin to have Sonic look towards him.  
  
"C'mon, Sonie...it's alright. Anthony's still in control..."  
  
Sonic gazed towards Chuck with tear filled eyes, then turned slowly toward Anthony, who was looking at Sonic through electronic eyes. Anthony then laid a hand on Sonic's shoulder to try and comfort him.  
  
"Sonic, I'm fine," Anthony said. "Once this mission is over, I'll be back to my old self again...and, hopefully, so will those workerbots in Packbell's fortress."  
  
Sonic wiped away his tears and then stood up, with Chuck and Anthony following suit. Mario, Megaman, and Link then walked up to the group, Link now recovered from his nausea.  
  
"Wow..." Megaman said. "You look great as a robot, Anthony."  
  
"Thanks..." Anthony said. "Though I prefer fleshtones to dull gray. Sonic...are you alright now?"  
  
Sonic nodded slightly while still being comforted by Chuck. Bookshire then walked up to Anthony. "We'd better get the plans ready for the infiltration. Anthony, take the rest of the day to get used to your new body and see which of your psionics are still effective."  
  
"Will do, Bookshire," Anthony said, then walked out of the building escorted by Mario, Megaman, and Link. After Anthony left, Sonic broke down into tears again...  
  
"I understand, Sonie..." Chuck said, embracing his nephew. "I was hoping it we wouldn't see it again either..."  
  
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Anthony was amazed at what was still functioning even though he was in a robotic form. Even though his metabolic psionics were inactive, seeing as how there were almost no organic parts to augment or repair, his telepathic and kinetic powers were still fully active. He also noticed his robotic body gave him added strength, agility, and reflexes without the need for psionic enhancement.  
  
He was still practicing working with his body in the safety of his new home when he received a knock at the door. "Who wants to see me at this hour?" Anthony thought, noticing the clock showed a late hour. He opened the front door slightly and noticed Doctor Light and Chuck standing there. "Oh, it's you guys. Come on in."  
  
The two doctors entered as Anthony opened the door wider and then Light asked, "Have you figured out your body by now?"  
  
"Yes. Looks like I have all my powers except for my metabolic powers. Also, it seems this new body enhances my reflexes and strength as well."  
  
"Well then you should like a couple of its other features," Chuck said. "During the process we installed some additional features in your body that should come in handy."  
  
Anthony looked towards Chuck upon hearing this. "And, you didn't tell me this WHY?!?"  
  
"We wanted you to get used to your body's regular functioning before you practice with these new features." Light explained. "Otherwise, you would have probably short circuited from the lack of practice."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said. "Alright, what new toys does my body have?"  
  
Chuck did all the explanations. "Your body has been augmented much in the same way as we were when we were roboticized as workerbots. Your arms and legs can expand..."  
  
"You mean like this?" Anthony said, expanding his left arm towards another room and grabbing small vase. "I found this out on my own."  
  
"Oh...well...in that case, I'll describe the other functions, all of which can be activated through synaptic connections in your head," Chuck said, continuing. "Your feet have boosters that can be used for short range flight and additional speed when necessary. Your chest compartment also has a small computer console that can be used to store data you pick up, either from a datajack similar to Davie's Data Spear in your left arm or from your audio or video receptors in your head. There's a disk drive right about...here." Chuck pointed to a small slot on Anthony's left breastplate and inserted a disk in it. "You can also read disks using the same interface. In fact, read the disk that's currently installed."  
  
Anthony did so, and noticed the program was familiar. "What the...? Tetris?" Anthony noticed he could control the game with his thoughts, controlling the action of the game. "Cool..."  
  
"That game should help you get used to controlling your computer's functions," Chuck said. "Well, that's about it...do you have any questions?"  
  
Anthony stopped playing to answer. "Just one...since the operation doesn't take place until tomorrow, how am I supposed to sleep? I can't feel fatigue with this body..."  
  
"Just relax like you were going to sleep normally. As you recharge, you can go into a 'sleep mode' like your modern computers on Earth."  
  
As Anthony nodded in understanding, the door knocked again. Light went to answer it and saw Nina, Amy, and Bunnie waiting on the other side. "Oh...are you here to see Anthony?"  
  
"You bet sugah!" Bunnie answered. "Nina and I figured us formally roboticized citizens could help him cope, and, well, Amy here was concerned..."  
  
"Oh...well, Anthony seems to be coping well enough with his body. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company, though."  
  
Light let the three Mobians in and they all gasped upon seeing what Anthony looked like. "Whoa..." Nina said. "As frightening as that looks, he looks GOOD as a robot!"  
  
"Thanks," Anthony said, acknowledging what Nina said upon seeing the visitors. "Are you two here with the formally roboticized citizens support group?"  
  
"Well, sugah, we weren't sure if you needed help coping with that new body of yours," Bunnie explained.  
  
"Nah, I'm fine," Anthony said. "Thanks for your concern though, and...I understand what you must've gone through from that damn machine..."  
  
"Well, we'd better all get moving so Anthony can keep practicing," Chuck said. He, Light, Bunnie, and Nina then left the building, but Amy stayed behind.  
  
Anthony noticed this and looked with concern at her as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Something wrong, Ames? I told you I'm fine..."  
  
Amy then went to Anthony's side and laid a paw on his arm. "Aren't you scared?" she asked.  
  
"Being a robot? Well, the process was somewhat painful..."  
  
"No, not that," Amy said, interrupting Anthony. "I mean...about the mission."  
  
"Of course," Anthony said. "There's still a lot of variables that are involved that I don't know about, but I should be able to..." Anthony stopped when he felt feelings of fear from Amy. "Amy...my God...you're TERRIFIED about me going on this mission!"  
  
Amy then broke down into tears and Anthony comforted the young hedgehog, being careful to be gentle with his new body as he hugged her. "Shh...it's alright..." Anthony said, trying to calm down Amy, and then thought, "Damn! Why did I have to do this? Now Amy is upset and I'm not even sure as to my success! I should just keep my mouth shut next time I consider pulling a stunt like this..."  
  
A knock sounded on the door as Anthony continued to comfort Amy. He walked over, carrying the young hedgehog, and opened the door a crack. He saw Mary Rose on the other side.  
  
"Oh, Mary," Anthony said, opened the door further to let her in, "thank goodness you're here. Amy here is a little upset out of fear for me."  
  
"I figured as much," Mary said, appearing to examine Anthony's new form. "You...don't look that bad as a robot, but I and I'm sure Amy prefer your human form."  
  
"So do I," Anthony said, "which is why I hope to finish this mission quickly. Here, I'd better let you take care of Amy..." Anthony then handed Amy to Mary, who then continued to comfort her daughter.  
  
As Mary started to leave with her daughter, she turned toward Anthony. "Take care, Anthony, and...good luck tomorrow..."  
  
"You take care as well, and thank you..." Anthony said. As soon as Mary and Amy had left, a thought escaped his mind...  
  
"I'm going to need it..."  
  
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Alarms began sounding at Packbell's fortress as several figures passed within five miles of it, and several blasts could be heard, but not from Packbell's weapons.  
  
"Status report." Packbell ordered one of his robots manning the observation panel.  
  
"TWO ROBOTS, DESIGNATE 'MEGAMAN' AND 'BASS', CHASING AND FIRING UPON AN UNKNOWN ROBOT," the robot answered in a monotone voice.  
  
"Really..." Packbell said. "Fire upon Light's bots and then bring that unknown robot to me."  
  
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Outside, Megaman and Bass, while riding Rush and Treble in jet mode, continued to fire upon a robot that was rocketing off towards the fortress. "Give it up, Maverick!" Bass said. "You can't escape!" Suddenly, the two herobots were fired upon from the fortress, and the two of them noticed a squadron of robots descending on them.  
  
"There's too many of them," Megaman said. "Let's get out of here!" The two of them retreated while the robots surrounded the unknown robot. As soon as the two of them reached the outskirts, they were met by Sonic, Mario, Link, and the other heroes.  
  
"Well?" Link asked.  
  
"Mission accomplished," Megaman said. "It's up to Anthony now."  
  
Sonic and Tails looked with fear towards the fortress. "Good luck, bud," Sonic whispered towards the fortress.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Anthony found himself being brought, forcefully, to a control room within the fortress, and found himself face to face with Packbell.  
  
"Well, robot," Packbell said, "looks like you aren't too popular with Arcadia's heroes. Mind telling me what you were doing near my fortress?"  
  
"I just ended up there," Anthony said. "I'm not exactly well liked by the Freedom Fighters. Come to think of it...Robotnik doesn't exactly like me either. You...don't work for him, do you?"  
  
Packbell found this statement odd. "Why? What history do you have with Robotnik?"  
  
"I was his first experiment. I WAS human, but then he shoved me into this weird chamber with a glass tube, and I ended up like this. Actually, I kind of like it...but I left him anyway."  
  
"Why?" Packbell asked.  
  
"Simple...he wanted me to be a lackey to him like that bald buttmunch Snivley. I don't take orders..."  
  
Packbell pondered this robot carefully. "Tell me...if you could turn back into a human, would you?"  
  
"Hell...NO!" Anthony replied, playing the part well. "I rather like being a robot, especially with all the gadgets installed in me. By the way, you can call me Maverick."  
  
"I'd rather call you scrap, Maverick," Packbell said. "I don't like trespassers invading on my lair, so give me one good reason why I should let you live."  
  
"Hey! Looks like you have a grudge with those posers that were chasing me, and I can fight as well, even though I never got a chance to with those bots. For some reason, the process that changed me also allows me to do this..." Anthony then launched a psionic blast towards a Swatbot, which turned the Swatbot to scrap. "Not a blaster, that's for sure, but I'm not sure WHAT it is!"  
  
"Psionics..." Packbell mused, then gave a metallic chuckle. "Maverick...we might be able to work out a deal..." He then led Anthony into a private room to talk.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"GAMEMASTER?!? What type of fucked up title is THAT?" Anthony/Maverick gave a mechanical sounding laugh after Packbell finished telling his story about Arcadia. "What's he going to do, defeat you by beating you at checkers?!?"  
  
"Nothing to laugh about, Maverick," Packbell explained. "This human is a powerful psionicist, and even destroyed by best warship with his power. That psionic power you have was probably awakened by the robotization process. You might just be what I need to defeat Mobius."  
  
"I'm not going to be a lackey, am I? I'd rather take my chances with those bots again..."  
  
"Hardly...you and I are going to be partners in this little venture. Perhaps I can even find out how to make your powers equal to the Gamemaster's," Packbell explained. "For now, you may stay on an interim basis until I am sure I can trust you. Come...I'll show you your...'quarters'..."  
  
Packbell led Maverick to an area where Maverick saw a whole slew of workerbots in recharge mode. He then saw something on the far end which startled him. He saw a Mobian, obviously female, that was partly roboticized, only the arms, lower torso, and legs were roboticized. She was also recharging, and for some reason...this Mobian looked familiar to him...  
  
"What the...hey Packy, what's with the organic?"  
  
Packbell looked where Maverick was looking and explained. "Ah yes...her. Interesting situation with that one. She was a victim of a Roboticizer accident which left her in that partially roboticized form. Her mind is also reprogrammed like the workerbots, in fact, the incident allows her to act as a central control for the workerbots. Makes it a LOT easier to control them."  
  
"Really?" Maverick said, interested. "OK, different subject. Why bother even keeping these things around? You don't need them, you told me you hate organics...hey, can I blast them? I may need the practice with these..."  
  
"NO!" Packbell exclaimed. "They are my workforce and are currently rebuilding my army and that ship Gamemaster destroyed! Leave them be!"  
  
"Fine...where do I recharge?"  
  
"Over here," Packbell said, pointing to an empty recharge unit. "Since you are also partially organic, you will notice this unit removes toxins caused by the robotization. I created this to extend the usefulness of the workerbots...that is until I don't need them anymore. I'll see you in the morning, and then we can discuss what you can do for me..."  
  
Packbell left the area as Maverick hooked himself up to the recharge unit. As soon as he was sure Packbell left, he started sending a telepathic message...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
*Tails, can you hear me?*  
  
Tails, Lutherain on his shoulder and currently drawing upon his Descendancy Powers, heard Maverick's message and turned to the other heroes there. "Guys! Anthony's contacted me!" He then sent a telepathic message back. *I hear you, Anthony. What's up?*  
  
*So far so good. He really thinks I'm some robot named Maverick and has decided to let me stay...for now. He thinks my psi blast was actually caused by the robotization and thinks I can be used as a weapon against myself!*  
  
*Good!* Tails said, then informed the others of the situation. *What about the workerbots?*  
  
*All safe and sound, but it sounds like Packy's using them to rebuild the warship I destroyed with the Final Power. Also...something odd. One of them is only partially roboticized, and that one appears to be acting as a central control to the other workerbots. Apparently she was in some type of accident with the Roboticizer...and for some reason she looks familiar. Can you recognize her?* Maverick then sent a psionic image of the workerbot to Tails.  
  
The image caused him to gasp, and then he turned to Sally. "Aunt Sally? You...might want to see this..." He then touched Sally's forehead and showed her the image, and she immediately gasped in shock and broke down into tears.  
  
*Tails! I sensed you were shocked by that image! What is it?!?*  
  
*Anthony...that Mobian is Queen Alicia Acorn!*  
  
*WHAT?!? No wonder...but I thought she was dead!*  
  
*So did we. We thought she was killed from that roboticizer explosion!*  
  
*Okay...I'm going to scope out the situation for a little bit longer. I might be able to use Alicia's current condition to my advantage to get the workerbots out of here. Inform the others. Anthony...er, Maverick out.*  
  
Tails informed the other heroes of the situation, and was still shocked by this turn of events. Sonic was busy comforting Sally who was still crying.  
  
"She's alive!" Sally exclaimed between sobs. "Thank Destiny..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
After Maverick stopped communicating with Tails, he turned his attention towards Alicia. He wondered if he could reach her true mind and free her from the programming even though he had no access to the Descendancy Powers. He concentrated for a while, and then finally made contact with her true mind.  
  
*Alicia...Alicia Acorn. Can you hear me?*  
  
Alicia stirred from her "sleep" and opened her eyes. Maverick noticed her eyes were electronic, possibly also due to the partial robotization. She looked around and noticed Maverick was looking straight at her.  
  
Maverick then continued. *Yes...the one looking at you. I am Anthony Bault, descendant of Sir Eric and new Gamemaster of Arcadia. But call me Maverick for right now while I'm in this roboticized form. If you wish to speak to me, just think of what you want to say and I'll pick it up telepathically.*  
  
Alicia nearly gasped upon hearing the name Gamemaster. *Wh...where am I? Last thing I remember was being shoved into a Roboticizer, and then an explosion!*  
  
*You're in Packbell's fortress. You survived a Roboticizer accident which left you partially roboticized. This same condition also allows you to directly control the other workerbots surrounding us now.*  
  
*Yes...I...can somehow sense, the programming... Am I back in control?*  
  
*Yes. But I need you to continue to act like you are still under Packbell's programming. Actually...he has the workerbots building a warship. What I need you to do is find a way to direct the workerbots to finish the ship, but sabotage it in the process. In the meantime, while you're doing that, I'll formulate a way to get us out of here. My allies are on the outskirts ready to take you and your people to safety and to a new Deroboticizer that's been developed. Yes, Alicia...Robotnik has been defeated, thanks to the efforts of all five worlds of Arcadia.*  
  
*Thank Destiny! Alright...tomorrow I'll see what I can do.*  
  
*Then...I'll see you tomorrow. Return to "sleep".*  
  
Alicia closed her eyes and returned to a sleep mode and Maverick did the same. He needed his sleep, since tomorrow was going to be busy...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next day was met with a yell from Packbell. "Wake UP, Maverick!"  
  
Maverick awoke from sleep mode and found himself face to face with Packbell. "Sorry, Packy. Over...'slept', as the case may be...hey...where are the workerbots?"  
  
"Back to work on my warship. Come, I'll show you."  
  
Packbell led Maverick to a large warehouse where a huge ship was being constructed. It looked almost finished, and Maverick looked in fear at the large cannon at the bottom of it, but kept his cool.  
  
"Nice ship, Packy!" Maverick said. "Hey! Think I could take it for a test drive when it's finished! Looks like I can do some major damage with that cannon at the bottom!"  
  
"Perhaps..." Packbell said. "But for now, we should work on something else. Those psionic powers you have." He then turned towards Alicia, who was directing the workerbot movements. "Continue working. I'll be back."  
  
"Affirmitive," Alicia responded, then turned towards the work. As soon as Maverick was led away by Packbell, she then sent secret instructions electronically to the workerbots, altering their construction instructions...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Now," Packbell said, motioning towards several Swatbots at the far end of a building he brought Maverick to, "those Swatbots will help you with your powers. I've seen the Gamemaster use a couple powers on occasion, including that force blast you used as well as one other. He managed to create a barrier with the same energy that could deflect laser weapons. See if you can create that."  
  
"This could take a while, but I'll try."  
  
"You have...30 seconds..." Packbell said, and instructed the Swatbots to take aim.  
  
"Oh shit!" Maverick said as he built up some energy. He tried to make it look like he was having trouble creating the barrier, even accidentally letting loose a blast which shot skyward. "Dammit..."  
  
"15 seconds, Maverick."  
  
Finally, Maverick spread some energy before him like a shield, creating the barrier, and managed to complete it 3 seconds before the Swatbots fired. The shots hit the barrier, and were blocked by it.  
  
"That was close..." Maverick said, then turned towards Packbell. "How was that?"  
  
"Well done...some more practice and you should have it. This could work out to my advantage after all..."  
  
After two hours of practice, a Swatbot came up to Packbell. "SIR. CONSTRUCTION OF BIOCANNON COMPLETE AND READY FOR TESTING."  
  
"Excellent." Packbell said. "Instruct the workerbots to leave the construction zone and return to the recharge chamber."  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE." The Swatbot then walked back towards the warehouse.  
  
Packbell turned towards Maverick. "Let's see how my new toy stands up, Maverick. If you want...I'll let you pull the trigger."  
  
"Nice..." Maverick said. "We got a target?"  
  
"Just a test fire for now, no target."  
  
"Dammit...I was hoping to destroy something..."  
  
Packbell gave a metallic chuckle at this. "I like your enthusiasm, Maverick! Perhaps you'll get your chance eventually..."  
  
As the two walked towards the warehouse, Maverick saw the workerbots walking out. He then sent a psionic message to Alicia.  
  
*Alicia?*  
  
*The cannon is set to blow if charged up to fire, Maverick.*  
  
*Good. You were instructed to get to the recharge chamber...get to the exit nearest to it instead and get ready to run.*  
  
*But...with the guards...where...?*  
  
*I'll handle it.*  
  
Alicia continued to lead the workerbots towards the recharge area, and Maverick sent another message to Tails.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
*Tails...Alicia is going to have the workerbots ready to bolt once the fireworks start. I'll send you the location where they're going. Have the group there ready to evacuate them.*  
  
*Fireworks? What...?*  
  
*Alicia is back in control and was able to electronically instruct the workerbots to sabotage the warship they were working on. Be ready at a moment's notice!*  
  
*But...what about you?*  
  
*I'll manage, just be ready. Maverick out.*  
  
Tails told the rest of the group what Maverick said, and then the group filed into a large vehicle to get it ready to evacuate them. Mario, Link, and others noticed Sally was especially anxious about what was to happen next...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Maverick looked at the final product, amazed at how quickly Packbell managed to put it back together. He was afraid at what it would mean to Arcadia, but kept his feelings in check to stay in character.  
  
"Are you SURE we don't have a target, Packy? Would be a waste..."  
  
"We're just going to charge up the weapon and test fire it for now. Since this weapon was designed to destroy only organics, it shouldn't effect the metal walls of this warehouse. Once we see if the weapon fires normally...THEN we'll look for a target."  
  
"Good! Charge it up!"  
  
Packbell activated the charging sequence of the weapon, watching the controls to see if the systems were running normally.  
  
"So far so good..." Packbell said, then turning towards Maverick. "Once the weapon is fully charged, it has the ability to destroy organics in a wide range. That should give you the level of destruction you might like..."  
  
"COMMANDER PACKBELL," one of the Swatbots piped up, "OVERLOAD DETECTED."  
  
"What?" Packbell said, surprised. "Shut it down!"  
  
"UNABLE. SYSTEM FAILURE. SYSTEMS GOING CRITICAL."  
  
"Packy, I think we should run...that thing may not be built to destroy metal, but if it blows...!"  
  
"Agreed! Let's move!"  
  
Packbell and Maverick exited the building and took cover behind a building opposite the warehouse. At the same time, Maverick sent a telepathic message to Alicia. *Alicia, when you see the explosion, run!*  
  
Suddenly, the entire warehouse went up in a huge explosion, raining debris on several of the surrounding buildings. Several of the Swatbots came in to try to contain the resulting flames. Packbell was not pleased.  
  
"Blast it! That was my ultimate weapon! It will take forever to..."  
  
Suddenly a communication came in from one of the guard Swatbots. "COMMANDER PACKBELL. WORKERBOTS ATTEMPTING ESCAPE. INSUFFICIENT SWATBOTS TO CONTAIN."  
  
Packbell was confused. "Escape? How...?"  
  
Maverick took the initiative. "Doesn't matter! I'll try and stop them!" He then rocketed off towards the exit.  
  
Packbell turned his attention back towards the wrecked building, confident Maverick would stop them. At least, until he got the next transmission...  
  
"COMMANDER PACKBELL. SWATBOT UNITS UNABLE TO CONTAIN WORKERBOTS. FORCE BEING DESTROYED."  
  
"Destroyed? HOW?!?"  
  
"SWATBOT UNITS BEING ATTACKED BY DESIGNATE 'MAVERICK'."  
  
Packbell became more enraged. He had let this robot into his trust with the hope of using him as a weapon against Arcadia. Now, he had turned on him...  
  
It was then he realized who Maverick really was...  
  
"Gamemaster...I never realized you would resort to roboticizing yourself to defy me..." He then rocketed off towards where Maverick went...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Maverick was making short work of the Swatbots, firing force blasts at all of them until they were reduced to scrap. He noticed that the workerbots made it to where the Arcadians were waiting, and filed into the waiting evac vehicle. He also caught a brief glimpse of Sally and Alicia teary eyed and embracing before the vehicle rocketed off.  
  
"Good, they made it," Maverick thought as he psi blasted another Swatbot. "That's my cue to skiddo now..."  
  
As he made his way towards the exit, he was soon tackled to the ground by Packbell, and then dragged into a nearby building. As soon as the two had entered it, Maverick was thrown against a wall and Packbell pressed a button which sealed all exits.  
  
"Well, Maverick...or should I say Gamemaster," Packbell said, "I must say I am impressed by your tenacity. You are truly a worthy adversary."  
  
Maverick/Anthony, realizing he no longer needed the facade, stood up and faced Packbell ready to fight. "Really? I didn't think you had this respect for humans, Packy!"  
  
Packbell ignored the jibe and threw a cylinder-like object towards Anthony. "But you're not a human anymore. You are a robot like me. That is why I am going to give you a fair chance. Pick it up."  
  
Anthony picked up the cylinder, noticing it was a lightsaber. "Yeah, right, Packy. This will probably blow my hand off if I activate it..."  
  
"No, it won't. I wish to have one final fight with an opponent that I find even worthier than Kintobor. I will even tell you this...as a courtesy to a worthy warrior. Those workerbots you liberated are the last roboticized citizens on this planet, so you have no one left to free."  
  
"I see...so what's to prevent me from just trying to escape?"  
  
"Your only escape is through me, Gamemaster. So fight me..." Packbell then activated his lightsaber, "...as a courtesy to me."  
  
Anthony then activated his lightsaber and advanced on Packbell. "So be it!!!"  
  
The two of them clashed lightsabers as the explosions of the warehouse and surrounding buildings continued to ring outside. Anthony did not use his psionics, feeling he could beat Packbell without them, and feeling the same enjoyment that Packbell seemed to be having about this fight...  
  
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After bringing the workerbots to safety, the heroes wondered where Anthony was.  
  
"Did anyone see Anthony come out?" Protoman asked. "I thought I saw him on his way out!"  
  
"I'll try contacting him..." Tails said, then tried to send a telepathic message. "Guys, I can't reach him! He seems to be...occupied!"  
  
"Occupied?" Sonic asked, confused. "What is he doing?"  
  
"Whatever it is, we'd better help! Let's move!" Link ordered. The group then headed back towards the fortress.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Even without his metabolic powers, Anthony still found himself evenly matched with Packbell, as he continued to parry blow after blow from Packbell. Neither one was gaining ground in the fight, and it seemed both would collapse like the rest of the fortress around them.  
  
Suddenly, in a feat of desperation, Anthony launched a blast of psionics towards Packbell, which knocked Packbell off his feet and blasted him against the opposite wall. Anthony then quickly went up to him and stuck the lightsaber straight into his chest.  
  
"Well...met...Gamemaster," Packbell said, beginning to shut down, "but...I shall have...the last laugh... I have...another base...which my consciousness will go to...but you...won't...live...to find it...." He then shut down, leaving Anthony to ponder his words.  
  
"I won't live to...what does he mean...?" Suddenly he heard a general announcement. "SELF DESTRUCT IN TWO MINUTES."  
  
"SHIT!!!!" Anthony said, and then sent a telepathic message to Tails. *Guys! Stay away from the fortress! It's set to blow in two minutes! Stay clear! I'll come towards you!*  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Tails received the message and had everyone head back towards the outskirts. Upon reaching the outskirts, the group watched in anticipation towards the base.  
  
"C'mon Anth..." Sonic said, half praying. "Get out of there!"  
  
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Anthony spent the next minute and a half trying to escape the sealed in building he was trapped in. The lightsaber made little headway in cutting the door open, and his time was running out.  
  
"FIFTEEN SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT."  
  
This was it. Anthony knew he wouldn't make it in time even if the door opened now. He couldn't help thinking and wishing he was back in Mobotroplis and his mind focused on that location...  
  
...and then blinked out of existence a second before the building went up in flames.  
  
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The heroes all looked in horror at the explosion that engulfed the fortress. They saw no sign of Anthony exiting the area, and feared the worst...  
  
"No..." Mario said. "He can't...Tails, canna you reach him?" He then noticed that Tails had broken down and cried at the sight, also believing the worst had happened.  
  
A somber mood filled the air as the group started to head away from the fortress and back towards Mobotropolis. They were soon snapped to attention when they heard a familiar, but electronic voice, come in on Protoman's communicator...  
  
"Guys...come in...it's Anthony."  
  
All eyes turned towards Protoman's comm unit as he answered back. "Anthony, where are you and how...?"  
  
"I'm in Mobotropolis...and you'll see how in just a minute..."  
  
Soon after the communication broke a flash of light appeared near their location. Within seconds it reformed into the robotic body of the roboticized Anthony Bault.  
  
"ANTHONY!" Tails squealed and embraced the robotic Gamemaster, tears of relief and joy flowing freely. After a while, he let go and looked up at his fellow descendant. "We *sniff* thought you didn't make it! How...?"  
  
"I didn't even know for a while. Before the blast engulfed me I found myself near my new home in Mobotropolis, and then realized that I somehow learned Teleportation!"  
  
Several of the heroes were confused. "Tele-what?" Luigi asked.  
  
"Teleportation. Another psionic power that allows immediate transportation from one area to another, one I've seen in several games. I guess when I focused on Mobotropolis, it kicked in!"  
  
"Way past cool, Anth!" Sonic said. "You rescue the workerbots, Queen Alicia included, and get a new power to boot!"  
  
"Yeah," Anthony said, sounding drained despite the fact his body could feel no fatigue. "Guys, if the workerbots are safely away, can we go home now? I want to get out of this damn metal shell!"  
  
"Definitely, Anthony," Link said. "In fact, I'm sure we'll all be glad to see you flesh again!"  
  
The group then headed back towards Mobotropolis, Anthony leading the way with the others following close behind.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Anthony wanted to wait until all the workerbots were deroboticized before he was deroboticized. While he waited in the office abutting the room with the Deroboticizer, he found out some information about Queen Alicia's condition.  
  
"So, Doc," Anthony said, addressing Bookshire who was talking to him, "what was Alicia's condition? What did the Roboticizer explosion do to her to render her in that state?"  
  
"Apparently, even though the Roboticizer only got her arm and leg areas, the explosion she was caught in did nothing more but accelerate the robotization in key areas, such as the spine and nervous system. We examined her condition for future study. Some complications did occur during the derobotization as a result of the accident, but we managed to pull her through. We're going to keep her under observation for a few days to monitor her condition and make sure no further complications take place."  
  
"Good," Anthony said. "How...did King Acorn and Prince Elias react when they saw the queen alive?"  
  
"After deroboticizing her, I think the king and queen never stopped hugging until after an hour later. I've...never seen the king happier, even when you reunited him with Sally and Elias..."  
  
"No surprise...Max, Elias, and Sally DID think she was dead! I'm sure they'll be glad to remove her name from the Knothole Memorial."  
  
"No doubt..." Bookshire said, then noticing the last of the citizens leaving the Deroboticizer. "Look like all the citizens are taken care of. You're next, Gamemaster!"  
  
The two walked into the room where Doctors Chuck and Light were readying the Deroboticizer. Anthony then allowed himself to be strapped into the machine. Within minutes, after the machine did its work, a fully restored Anthony Bault replaced the form of Maverick.  
  
"Thank God..." Anthony said after the process completed. "Now maybe I can..." He then noticed he was also back in just his undergarments. "Please tell me you guys picked up some clothes for me."  
  
"Well..." Light said. "We DID get your armor..." He then pointed over to where Anthony's armor was laying.  
  
If this was anime, Anthony would have facefaulted. "You got my armor, but forgot my damn CLOTHES?!? Can one of you...?"  
  
Before he could finish, Zelda came in, and immediately turned away when she saw Anthony, blushing slightly. "Oh...sorry. I thought Anthony was ready now."  
  
"What do you need, your highness?" Chuck asked.  
  
"Er...well. Queen Alicia Acorn wanted to meet with Anthony once he was deroboticized. I can tell her it might be a while if..."  
  
"It's alright, Zelda," Anthony said, quickly slipping on his armor and using the Descendancy medallion attached to it to activate the Descendancy Powers and create the Master's Armor, which covered his body. "This should do until I can get some clothes. But this is going to chafe like hell..."  
  
Anthony then followed Zelda to a room where Queen Alicia was bedridden. King Acorn, Princess Sally, and Prince Elias were all there, watching over and talking with Alicia. All four members of the Acorn family had visible tears of joy as the four talked. Anthony waited outside as Zelda went to introduce him.  
  
"You majesty, Queen Alicia?" Zelda said, getting the attention of all present. "I've brought the Gamemaster."  
  
"Oh...yes! Please, bring him in!" Alicia replied.  
  
Zelda walked out and nodded towards Anthony. Anthony then walked in, and Alicia looked in admiration at the new Gamemaster of Arcadia. Anthony then knelt down and placed his arm on his chest in a sort of salute. "Your majesty, I am Anthony Bault, Gamemaster of Arcadia, in my true form. I am at your service."  
  
Alicia sat up in her bed and then started talking. "Arise, Gamemaster. You are friends with the rest of this family, and I do not wish to be treated any differently."  
  
Anthony stood up and faced the queen and then the queen continued. "I never got a chance to thank you for what you had done. You are truly as brave as how my family described you. A shame you won't accept a statue...you truly deserve it."  
  
"I had my reasons," Anthony explained, "and for a while...you were one of them. I'm sure your family will be more than glad to remove your name from the Knothole Memorial."  
  
"Yes...the Memorial." Alicia adopted a thoughtful expression before continuing. "So many people...and who knows how many more may still be roboticized..."  
  
"You and those I rescued were the last of the roboticized," Anthony replied. "Packbell told me so out of respect for me. Strange...to be admired by your enemy..."  
  
King Acorn then spoke up. "Are you sure he was telling the truth?"  
  
"Yes. He was positive I wouldn't live to tell you as such. To be honest...I didn't think I'd make it either..."  
  
"Well, we are all glad you did, Gamemaster," Alicia said.  
  
"Your majesty, please call me Anthony," Anthony said in response. "Was there anything else?"  
  
"Actually..." Alicia said, then nodded towards Sally and Elias, who then embraced the Gamemaster, tears of joy flowing freely.  
  
Anthony smiled at this. "You're welcome," Anthony said to the two of them, and then said to himself, "GOD, this seems familiar..." 


	5. Humility and Wonder

Chapter 5 - Humility and Wonder  
  
While work continued in Mobotropolis, it seemed all eyes were focused on a group that had gathered near the road leading to Minoc Grove. The group included eight hedgehogs, five foxes, and two squirrels. They were all well known to everyone in Mobotropolis, but one observer knew what brought them together...  
  
Anthony was on Vista Point looking down at the group that had gathered. It included four families recently reunited, namely Sonic's, Tails's, Amy's, and Sally's. The Acorns had arranged for the four families to go together on a picnic to celebrate the recovery and derobotization of the last of the roboticized citizens. Anthony was also invited to join them, but refused saying this was a family affair.  
  
Anthony watched as the four families got together and made the final preparations. Queen Alicia Acorn was currently using Anthony's old hoverchair, a precaution due to her previous condition, but thankfully wasn't the target of old comic book references like Anthony was. Of course...she still was having trouble convincing her husband and children that she wasn't an invalid.  
  
Manic and Queen Aleena had traveled from Mobara to help comfort Sonia after David had to leave to take care of his father's problems. Anthony noticed that, besides Chuck and Sonic, another hedgehog had joined them. Anthony was told who this was before this event. He was Commander Wallace Julian Hedgehog, Sonic's, Sonia's, and Manic's father and Chuck's brother, who had been leading the freedom fight in Station Square, and who also was recently reunited with the rest of his family as well.  
  
Tails and Amy seemed to be the most excited of the group, perhaps because they were also the youngest. Their families were also invited to this celebration seeing as how they were friends with members of both royal families. As the preparations were going on, only Amy seemed to notice Anthony's looking down at the group, and smiled in his direction, which Anthony acknowledged with a small nod.  
  
As soon as the group started their trek towards where they were going to picnic and had left the area, Anthony leaned back against a tree. He was smiling and had tears of joy running down his face. This reaction was to be expected...he had helped reunite all four of those families, and couldn't find a way to express his happiness for them any other way. He was hoping no one would see him doing this, but...  
  
"Enjoying the fruits of your labors, Anthony?"  
  
Anthony snapped to attention and looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Mario, Luigi, Link, Megaman, Protoman, and Bass approach. He quickly wiped away the tears under his glasses and faced the approaching heroes. "I guess you saw my reaction to seeing them, huh?" Anthony asked.  
  
"Yes, and we a thought you created a power to block their feelings from you," Luigi said. "You're a not have a relapse, are you?"  
  
"No," Anthony said, regaining his composure. "These tears of joy are mine and mine alone. I guess seeing how happy all four of those families were got to me."  
  
"That's understandable," Protoman said. "Are you SURE you don't want a statue?"  
  
"I'm POSITIVE, guys!!" Anthony exclaimed. "In fact if you want to thank me, would you PLEASE stop treating me like I saved Mobius by myself?!? Jesus H. Christ..."  
  
"Sheesh, fine..." Link said, and then asked, "Jesus who?"  
  
"I'll explain later, Link..."  
  
"So, what's next for you, Anthony?" Megaman asked. "Looks like all the loose ends have been tied up regarding this world!"  
  
Anthony then looked up towards the sky. "Not sure, Mega. I may look into how I can train my world's race in the use of psionics. I may have to start small...one or two students to start with...then..." He then saw the floating form of Angel Island pass over close to Mobotropolis, and then frowned. "Actually...there is one more loose end to take care of..."  
  
Mario looked up where Anthony was looking and asked, "What a loose end? Something onna the Floating Island?"  
  
"Yes...something of a personal matter. If you will excuse me, I'll be back a little later..." Anthony said, then disappeared as he used his new Teleport power.  
  
The remaining heroes looked at where Anthony disappeared from and were confused. "Huh? What was he talking about?" Bass asked.  
  
"I think I know," Protoman said. "If I'm right, Anthony has an apology to make..."  
  
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In a hidden base on some unknown stretch of Mobius, a small band of echidnas gather. They all looked like normal echidnas, save for the fact that they were all partially roboticized. The only difference was, this robotization was willing...  
  
Dimitri and Kragok looked upon their fellow members of the Dark Legion and smiled. They had a plan set in motion to attack the members of the Chaotix and wrestle control of the Floating Island from them.  
  
"Do you understand what you need to do, Kragok?" Dimitri asked his second in command.  
  
"Yes, Dimitri..." Kragok answered, looking at the band of warriors that had gathered. "And with this fine army, I very much doubt the Chaotix and that traitor, Julie-Su, will survive."  
  
"Excellent. Not only will we finally have control of Angel Island...but we will have the Gardenia portal as an added bonus. Ready your men."  
  
Kragok then went down to address the gathered army. At the same time, a female echidna stepped out from the shadows, an act that Dimitri noticed.  
  
"And how long were you listening, my dear Lien-Da?" Dimitri asked.  
  
"Long enough to enjoy the confidence you were spewing," Lien-Da answered, "and enough to wonder one thing. Aren't you afraid of Gardenia's or any other Arcadian forces getting involved?"  
  
Dimitri snorted in disapproval. "The thought had occurred to me, but I am confident in Kragok's abilities to lead the men to battle. Even if the Gamemaster were to appear, I don't think he'd be a challenge."  
  
"So confident..." Lien-Da exclaimed. "Too bad we have to kill my sister, Julie-Su. But then, she was a bit soft-hearted for the Legion."  
  
"Don't worry, my dear," Dimitri said. "I asked Kragok to see about keeping her alive. If she cannot be turned...the pleasure of killing her will be all yours."  
  
Lien-Da then smiled an evil smile upon hearing that, and watched as Kragok addressed the army...  
  
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Anthony's sudden appearance near the Master Emerald and the Mobius/Gardenia portal made the two Troopa portal guards jump. Once they realized who it was, they regained their composure and saluted Anthony.  
  
"Gentlemen," Anthony said, addressing the guards, "do you happen to know where Knuckles is?"  
  
"The Guardian?" one of the guards answered. "I believe he is at his home right now."  
  
"Thank you. If he comes by, tell him I'm looking for him."  
  
The guards nodded in understanding as Anthony walked towards where Knuckles's home was. It was located fairly close to the Chaos Emerald chamber and was a small dwelling compared to what Anthony had seen being built in Mobotropolis. Before he even got close to the door, he heard a voice...  
  
"HALT! Who goes there?"  
  
Anthony turned towards...apparently nothing...and spoke. "Espio, you know damn well who I am, and that camo trick is lame..."  
  
Espio then appeared out of thin air as he removed his camouflage. "Geez...between your psionics and Knux's Guardian abilities, I can't fool anyone anymore, Gamemaster!"  
  
"Well, that camouflage trick tend to get old amongst allies, Espio," Anthony said. "Now...is your leader in?"  
  
"Actually, he's over near the edge of the island over there," Espio answered, pointing in the direction where Knuckles was. "I think I saw Julie-Su with him as well."  
  
"Oh...hmmm...sounds like a private moment..."  
  
Espio smiled at that. "Yeah, I'm sure. However, I don't think he'll mind the interruption. I think they're just looking at the view."  
  
"If you say so, Espio..."  
  
Anthony walked over towards where Espio indicated and saw Knuckles and Julie-Su sitting down and looking over the side of the cliff towards the land below. They appeared to be just looking over the side at the scenery, just as Espio said. Julie-Su turned around just as Anthony walked up. "Oh, Gamemaster, this is a surprise! Come to check out the scenery from the island?"  
  
"Actually, I'm here to speak with Knux," Anthony said.  
  
Knuckles turned around upon hearing that. "Really? What did you need?"  
  
"It involves something I need to do regarding you," Anthony said, "and that's to apologize..."  
  
"What for?" Knuckles said, confused.  
  
"For upsetting you when I showed you that fanfic when we first met. I didn't want to use it...but I was so desperate to get you to help that..."  
  
"Gamemaster..." Knuckles said, "You don't need to apologize for that. In fact, I owe you for that."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well...After the Battle of Mobius I began thinking back to what you had said...about the fic representing what might happen if I turn my back on those that want to be my friends. I realized I had been acting too much like the lone wolf as of late, an I'm not talking about Lupe! Sometimes I didn't even want the company of the other Chaotix...and those are the guys I consider my closest friends! In a sense...you opened my eyes as to what I had been missing because of how I had been acting with my role as Guardian. I've been trying to improve my relationships with people as of late as a result...some relationships more than others..." Knuckles then placed his paw on top of one of Julie-Su's paws, causing her to blush slightly.  
  
Anthony smiled at this exchange. "So...you're not upset by what I did?"  
  
"Not at all, in fact..." Knuckles then stood up and extended his paw in friendship. "I would be honored to call you a friend as well, Gamemaster."  
  
"In that case..." Anthony said, shaking Knuckles's paw, "I would be honored as well, and none of this Gamemaster crap...the name's Anthony." He turned towards Julie-Su and continued. "That goes for you too, Julie."  
  
"Alright then, Anthony..." Knuckles said, then turned back towards where Julie-Su was sitting. "Come on...you should check out the view from here. It's one of the few wonders of this island."  
  
Anthony stepped near the edge of the cliff and noticed just how high up the island was. To him, the view was breathtaking...  
  
"Niiiiiiiiiiiice..." Anthony said. "I'm just glad I don't have a fear of heights! How high are...?" Suddenly he noticed what appeared to be a warship coming towards the island. "Knux! What's that!"  
  
Knuckles and Julie-Su saw where Anthony was looking and gasped. "Shit!" Knuckles said. "It's the Dark Legion, and it looks like they mean business!" He then turned towards Julie-Su. "Get the other Chaotix and get them ready for attack!"  
  
"Alright, just...be careful you two..." Julie-Su said, then ran off to get the other Chaotix.  
  
"Hopefully she also gets some help from Gardenia," Anthony said.  
  
Knuckles then had a worried look on his face. "We may not have time for that. Let's hope we can hold them off..."  
  
"Let's not hope, Knux...let's do it! ARMOR ACTIVATE!" Anthony said, causing the red armor to encase his entire body. He then looked towards the ship and readied both his sword and a psionic blast...  
  
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"Commander Kragok," one of the pilots of the warship said to his commander. "We're approaching the island."  
  
"Excellent," Kragok said, smiling evilly. "Once we near the island, order the troops to be ready to disembark with weapons firing! Make sure you find us a landing spot near the Master Emerald."  
  
"Aye sir," the pilot replied. Suddenly, without warning, the entire vessel shook as they appeared to take a hit from something. "Commander," the pilot said, checking his instruments, "we've been hit on the port side, minimal damage, and there appears to be two sentries near the edge of the island!"  
  
"Get the shields up and show me those sentries," Kragok ordered. He then moved to a nearby viewscreen and saw two red figures in the monitor: an echidna and an armored being holding a sword.  
  
"So..." Kragok mused, "the Guardian DOES have the Gamemaster with him." He then turned back towards the pilot. "Continue course towards the Master Emerald!"  
  
"Aye sir," the pilot replied, turning back towards the console.  
  
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"Well, THAT was useless!" Anthony said after seeing the psionic blast did little damage to the ship. He and Knuckles then started rocketing towards the Master Emerald after seeing the ship fly over their heads. They soon saw the ship starting to land.  
  
"Huh? Strange..." Knuckles said as they kept moving. "Usually they try to grab the Emerald in mid-flight! Why are they landing?"  
  
"They must want something..." Anthony replied, then made a realization. "They must want the Portal!"  
  
"Doesn't look like they'll get it anytime soon! Look!" Knuckles pointed towards the growing army of Koopa troops assembling along with the Chaotix.  
  
"Excellent, Julie got help," Anthony said. "Let's join them!"  
  
As they approached the Emerald, they saw the Dark Legionnaires beginning to file from the ship and open fire upon their friends. Luckily, the Chaotix and company were well prepared and had established a defense, firing back at the Legion.  
  
Anthony and Knuckles soon entered the fray, Anthony landing cutting blows to the Legionnaires' weapons and parrying the incoming shots with his sword. Knuckles was also fighting close range, KO'ing Legionnaires left and right.  
  
Suddenly, Anthony noticed something gleaming near the top of the ship, and saw who looked like Kragok aiming a weapon straight at Knuckles.  
  
"A sniper...KNUCKLES LOOK OUT!!!" Anthony yelled, but it was too late. Kragok fired a shot towards Knuckles which impacted him on his left side near the heart.  
  
"NO!!!" Anthony yelled, as he pulled Knuckles to safety behind where the Chaotix and Troopas were stationed. Espio and Charmy ran up to tend to their leader as the others continued to fire on the Legionnaires.  
  
"Oh man...not good. Charmy, get Archemedes and hurry!" Espio ordered as he tended to Knuckles.  
  
"Espio...how bad is it?" Anthony said, a look of worry on his face.  
  
Espio looked up at Anthony, a sad expression on his face. "Gamemaster...unless something is done, this wound could be mortal..."  
  
Anthony, shocked by what Espio said, deactivated his armor and placed a hand on where the wound was. He tried concentrating on the psionic technique to heal wounds, but could not seem to heal any of the damage. "Please," Anthony pleaded as he tried to heal the wound, "don't fail me now. Heal him..." Unfortunately, Anthony made little headway with his power, and the wound remained. As Archemedes came up to tend to Knuckles, Anthony could see that Knuckles was very still and even noticed Julie-Su starting to tear up.  
  
Anthony then stood up and looked towards the Legionnaires with a look of absolute rage. "YOU...BASTARDS!!!!!" He then activated his Descendancy Powers in order to create the Master's Armor.  
  
But this time the transformation was different...  
  
Espio and Charmy watched as Anthony's armor, instead of becoming the silver Master's Armor, turned ebon black. Even his cape and soon his sword were pitch black as well. They also noticed that his face had almost a permanent look of rage as he reentered the fray...  
  
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"The...HELL?!?" Kragok said as he noticed the transformation as well. "How did the Gamemaster's armor turn black like that?" He decided to join the troops to coordinate the battle, sure that he would win now that the Guardian was down, and the Chaotix demoralized.  
  
But what he saw next sent chills down his spine...  
  
Anthony rushed forward, the Master Barrier raised to prevent any shots from going through, and managed to paralyze several Legionnaires coming towards him. However, instead of just leaving them to fight some active troops, he went to each Legionnaire and stuck his sword into their hearts, causing them to collapse in a heap and bleed profusely. As another Legionnaire came from the side to attack, Anthony sent a psionic blast towards him causing him to explode in a shower of blood and body parts.  
  
Kragok was stunned. He soon realized that Anthony was fighting on pure rage from seeing Knuckles get hit and possibly killed, and had become homicidal as a result.  
  
As Anthony made his way through the troops, the deaths became more and more horrific. Several Legionnaires were hit with cyrokinetic blasts and turned into ice sculptures, only to be broken apart by Anthony's sword blows. Others were hit with powerful pyrokinetic attacks and burned to death screaming horribly. Those that avoided those attacks and got too close ended up getting a sword stabbed in the heart and the sword later cut upwards through their heads.  
  
Espio and Charmy could do nothing but watch what Anthony was doing, horrified and paralyzed by what they were seeing. Both were wide eyed as Anthony continued his attack.  
  
Soon, as the Legionnaire numbers began to dwindle both from the Chaotix and Troopa attacks and from Anthony's tirade, the Legionnaires began a retreat towards the ship. Anthony, however, sent psionic blasts to reduce several of them to bloodied body parts and then made his way towards where Kragok was directing his troops.  
  
As soon as Kragok turned to get on the ship to escape, he soon found himself facing an enraged Gamemaster face to face, and soon found himself paralyzed by his powers.  
  
"No...please!" Kragok pleaded. "You can't do this! I surrender! Don't hurt me!!!"  
  
Anthony didn't listen and raised his sword to strike at Kragok. Just as Kragok yelled a final "NO!!!!!" Anthony quickly slashed the sword in an X pattern across Kragok's heart, causing the Legion leader to fall to the ground in four parts and in a pool of blood.  
  
As the ship took off, Anthony looked towards it and fired a powerful electrokinetic blast towards the ship. It did no physical damage, but did short circuit several parts of it, causing the ship to crash to the ground off of the floating island.  
  
Espio and Charmy were shocked by what they had just seen, and Charmy even threw up at the sight of all the carnage. Espio then worried...would he turn his rage towards them next? Julie-Su even had a look of worry on her face, since her robotic arm made her look like one of the Legion.  
  
As soon as the ship crashed, Anthony began walking towards where the Chaotix and Troopas were. His ebon armor was badly blood stained and his sword was literally dripping with crimson. Espio began readying everyone to beat a hasty retreat, when suddenly Anthony's armor reverted to the red breastplate of his original armor and his sword turned back into its original form. He then collapsed on the ground, unconscious.  
  
Espio ran up to see to Anthony as Archemedes ordered everyone to take both him and Knuckles to his hut...  
  
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Dimitri watched what had transpired from a monitor in his base, which cut off just as the ship crashed. He was both stunned and angered by what had transpired, and was even more enraged that he had lost Kragok, one of his best men.  
  
He shut off the monitor and began walking towards his private chamber to think about what happened. Off to the side, a teary-eyed Lien-Da cried from the loss of Kragok...  
  
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"He will make it," Archemedes said after patching up Knuckles's wound. "Thankfully the shot did not do any significant damage to the heart or lung areas, so they should heal with time."  
  
"Thank Destiny for that," Mighty said, then turned his attention towards the human which occupied the other bed in the hut. "What about the Gamemaster there?"  
  
"Psionic energy depletion no doubt," Archemedes answered. "No doubt from the expenditure of psionics he displayed out there. He should wake up eventually..."  
  
"I figured he collapsed from that, Arc, but...what was that...THING he became?"  
  
Archemedes pondered the form Anthony took and said, "I'm not sure...all I can describe it as is...a Dark Gamemaster. Apparently seeing what he thought was Knuckles being killed was enough to unleash a rage within him, which in turn affected his being and apparently the Descendancy Powers as well."  
  
Mighty then looked concerned. "Do you think Anthony knows what he did?"  
  
"I doubt it, Mighty," Archemedes replied. "It might be likened to temporary insanity where the person who does something had no cognitive thought throughout the deed..."  
  
Espio and Vector came into the hut just after Archemedes had finished speaking, and they had a very teary-eyed Julie-Su and Chuckles following them. "Arc...how's Knux?" Vector asked.  
  
"He will live, he just needs time to heal," Archemedes answered, causing Chuckles to cry tears of relief with Julie-Su attempting to comfort her. At that moment, they heard a groaning sound coming from Knuckles, and the echidna soon had his eyes open.  
  
"Naki..." Julie-Su said, saying Knuckles's real name as she and Chuckles ran to his bedside.  
  
"Where...am I?" Knuckles asked weakly, and soon found himself staring straight into the eyes of Julie-Su.  
  
"You're in Archemedes's hut, recovering after that Dark Legion attack," Julie answered, then collapsed near the bedside and putting her head near Knuckles's. "Thank the Walkers you're alright..."  
  
Knuckles placed his arm around Julie-Su as best he could and brought her into a light embrace as she cried on his shoulder. He then noticed Chuckles on the other side of the bed and allowed her into the embrace as well.  
  
As the rest of the Chaotix were observing this and breathing a sigh of relief, they soon heard a quiet voice say, "Why? Dammit...Why...?" They soon turned towards Anthony's bed and saw Anthony was awake and cursing to himself.  
  
Espio walked up to his bed and spoke to him. "Gamemaster, are you al...?"  
  
"I have no right to that title anymore, Espio..." Anthony answered quietly. "Knuckles died because I didn't notice Kragok in time..."  
  
"He's not dead, Gamemaster...the wound wasn't fatal..."  
  
"WHAT?!?" Anthony yelled as he sat up in his bed. He then noticed Knuckles being hugged by both Julie-Su and Chuckles and then collapsed back into the bed, letting loose some tears of relief. "Thank God...oh, thank God..."  
  
Vector then walked up to Anthony. "Yeah, we managed to rout the Dark Legion too. I don't think they will be bothering us for a while."  
  
"Good," Anthony said, breathing a sigh of relief, then noticing where he was. "Where am I and how did I get here?"  
  
"Archemedes's hut," Espio answered. "You had collapsed after seeing Knuckles get hit and were brought here after the battle. Are you alright?"  
  
"I am now..." Anthony said, sitting up once again. "Though I may need some high grade aspirin for this SERIOUS headache I have..." Anthony then realized something. "Wait a minute...I feel like I used quite a bit of psi power but I don't remember..." He then turned towards Espio and Vector. "Guys...is there something you aren't telling me?"  
  
Vector and Espio looked at each other and then Vector said, "Not that we know of. Maybe the shock of seeing what happened to Knuckles affected you somehow..."  
  
"Perhaps..." Anthony said, then motioned for the two to come forward. "Can you guys give me a hand getting up? I want to see how Knuckles is."  
  
The two reptiles nodded and lent Anthony a couple of shoulders to lean on and helped Anthony up. "Thanks guys, oh, and Espio?"  
  
"Yes, Gamemaster?"  
  
"Forgive me..." Anthony said, and then quickly placed a hand on Espio's head. Anthony then used his telepathic ability to read Espio's mind and caught the images of what happened at the battle.  
  
Anthony's eyes glowed as he replayed the events of the battle as seen through Espio's eyes. As the images passed, Anthony's face looked more and more shocked and horrified by what he was seeing.  
  
Eventually, the eyes stopped glowing and Anthony fell to his knees, appearing to be gazing off into space at what he had just seen and still showing a look of horror on his face. As Espio and Vector went to help him up, Anthony pushed them away yelling, "GET AWAY FROM ME! I'M A MONSTER! A FUCKING MONSTER!!!!" He then ran out of the hut and into the night, disappearing as his Teleport power kicked in.  
  
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Anthony reappeared outside his home in Mobotropolis, where he entered and locked the door behind him. He then ran up to his room, removed his armor and sword, and threw them across the room as far as he could. After which, he closed the door and fell against it, dropping down to the floor and crying loudly out of fear and horror. These acts, however did not go unnoticed, as two plumbers approached the home and heard the crying coming from inside.  
  
"Mama mia..." Mario ran up to the door and, finding it locked, knocked on it yelling, "Anthony! What's a wrong?!? Open up!!!"  
  
No answer. All he and his brother heard were the continuing sobs coming from the second floor where Anthony's room was. It was at this time that the Sonic, Tails, Amy, Sally, and their families returned, and saw the panicked plumbers.  
  
"Mario bros, what's wrong?!?" Sonic said as he sped up to them. The entire group that return then heard the crying, and Tails flew up to look in the window.  
  
"Guys...Anthony looks terrified! What happened?" Tails asked.  
  
"That's a what we're trying to find out, Tails!" Luigi answered. "Anthony ran inside his house looking like something just scared him out of his a pants, and then he locked himself in!"  
  
"Something must have a happened onna Angel Island!" Mario responded. "Come on! Let's a get to the transit gates!"  
  
Sonic took that as his cue and grabbed the two plumbers and headed towards the gates. Tails, on Amy's request, hoisted Amy up to the second floor balcony to attempt to coax Anthony into letting them in...  
  
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Mario, Luigi, and Sonic arrived on Angel Island and were shocked at what they saw. The ground was littered with bodies all over the place, some of which looked like they were hacked apart by a wild animal, others which looked like they were burned beyond recognition. Sonic recognized the bodies as those of Dark Legionnaires, and all three of them were trying hard to avoid throwing up at the carnage they were witnessing.  
  
Eventually the three of them saw Espio and Mighty surveying the damage and discussing what to do with the bodies, and ran up to them.  
  
"Guys," Sonic said, "what happened here? It looks like the Dark Legion got slaughtered!"  
  
"They attacked us trying to get control of the Master Emerald...again," Mighty explained. "With the help of Koopa's troops, we managed to fend them off, but Knux took a really bad wound..."  
  
"Oh no..." Sonic said with a look of concern on his face. "Will he...?"  
  
"He'll be fine, Sonic! Archemedes has already patched him up and he's currently under Julie-Su's and Chuckles's watchful eyes."  
  
Sonic breathed a sigh of relief and then continued. "Might...that doesn't explain one thing...the Dark Legionnaires look like they were butchered! What happened, and why did Anth come running back with a look of horror on his face?"  
  
Espio and Mighty looked at each other and then turned back toward Sonic, Mario, and Luigi. "That's something we need to tell you about," Espio explained. "And...you may want to get the Heroes Council together for this..."  
  
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"Dark Gamemaster? By Nayru's grace..."  
  
The entire Heroes Council had gathered in a meeting building on Angel Island to hear what the Chaotix had to say about the attack. Espio even explained what happened to Anthony, and Link's statement seemed to mirror the feelings of all present. Amy, who had insisted on joining the group to find out what happened, had burst into tears and was currently being comforted by Luigi. Peach, Zelda, and Tails had also all broken out in tears, and were being comforted by Mario, Link, and Sally, who had also joined to find out what happened.  
  
Protoman's reaction was just as strong as he pounded his fist on the meeting table, leaving a sizable dent in it. "Dammit, this isn't fair! After all he's done for us, he has to have THIS happen to him?!?"  
  
"Calm down, Protoman," Megaman exclaimed. "Getting angry won't help and neither will wrecking the furniture."  
  
"Then tell me what WILL help!" Protoman replied. "This is more than just our ally, guys, this is our friend we are talking about! There has to be something we can do!"  
  
"There might not be anything we can do," Bass said, partially to himself. "He might be this way for a while until he calms down."  
  
Amy began to cry harder upon hearing that, causing Luigi to glare at Bass and say, "You're a not HELPING, Bass!"  
  
"Look, I'm just trying to be realistic here," Bass explained. "The best thing I can think of is to get his family and see if they know what to do."  
  
"Yeah? Who's going to tell them what happened?" Sonic asked. He noticed no one was rushing to answer, and, for the first, he also wasn't willing to rush into this.  
  
Suddenly, Amy's quiet voice was heard between sobs. "I'll...I'll tell them..."  
  
Sally looked up upon hearing this, wiping some more tears from Tails's face. "Amy, are you sure? You..."  
  
Amy sniffled and said, "My mom and I are friends with his family. We'll tell them what happened. I'll *sniff* I'll be fine..."  
  
Sally wasn't sure and looked towards the rest of the group, and all they did was nod in agreement. "Alright Amy. Luigi?"  
  
"I'll a go with her."  
  
The group watched as Amy and Luigi headed towards the transit gates, then Sonic stood up and said, "I'm going to go check on Knux and see how he's doing." Sonic then walked, yes walked, out of the meeting area towards Archemedes's hut.  
  
Sally saw this and couldn't help but comment. "Oh dear...Sonic must really be upset with what happened to Anthony..."  
  
"Can you blame him?" Link asked. "We may have lost not only our best ally...but our friend as well..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The outside of Anthony's house was eerily quiet as Mary and Amy walked up with Anthony's parents in tow. Toni was visibly distraught by what she had heard, and was worried about what she would find upon seeing her son. Would she see an empty shell of a person where her game loving son once was? She was secretly hoping there was a way to help him through this.  
  
Noticing the door was locked, Bill took a small key out of his pocket. A spare to Anthony's home he kept while helping with the move in. Upon unlocking the door, the group made its way upstairs to Anthony's room. They quietly opened the door, expecting to see disarray from Anthony's emotions.  
  
Instead, the room looked like it was still in good shape, the only thing out of place being the suit of armor they saw looking like it was thrown across the room. They also saw his glasses on a nightstand next to his bed, as if he removed them carefully. As for Anthony himself...  
  
Anthony was sitting in a far corner of the room away from the door. His head was in his hands and his hair was badly messed up.  
  
"Tony?" Toni said, hoping to capture her son's attention. As he looked up, the entire group saw his face and gasped.  
  
Anthony's face was haggard, his eyes had heavy rings under them and were badly red rimmed and bloodshot, and there were visible tear tracks running down both cheeks. It was as if he had seen every horror known to man all at once.  
  
Mary led Amy away so Toni and Bill could talk to their son alone, Amy beginning to have fresh tears well in her eyes. As Anthony's parents approached their son, they heard him barely whisper, "Please...go away...I don't want to hurt you..."  
  
Toni walked over and picked her son up from the floor, hugging him tightly despite his weakly whispered protests. The embrace was enough to cause a fresh batch of tears to surface in both mother and son, and they both cried as Bill entered the embrace as well.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Mary and Amy left the house, they were met by Mario, Link, Megaman, Sonic, Elrond Prower, Sarah Prower, and Tails, all showing concerned looks on their faces.  
  
"His parents are with him now," Mary explained. "Hopefully they will be able to figure out what to do."  
  
"I hope so..." Link said. "Right now, I don't care if we get the Gamemaster back...I just want our friend back..."  
  
The others nodded in agreement, looking up at the window of Anthony's room. Tails then looked at the teary-eyed face of Amy and hugged her tightly as the two kids cried out of fear for Anthony.  
  
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"I never thought my temper would get to that point..." Anthony said. His parents had managed to calm him down to the point where he was talking. "To think that I was capable of such...hatred and destruction...it was if I had turned into my own worst enemy..."  
  
Toni sighed at this. "I thought your temper wold get you into trouble someday...but this is different. Tony...you thought that a friend of yours had been killed, so your anger was more than understandable..."  
  
"Understandable?" Anthony said, shocked. "Mom...I wouldn't stop until every last one of the Legion died! I managed to paralyze several of them...but instead of just leaving them there...I sliced them into...so much meat..." Anthony shuddered at that sight, returning to his memory. "I didn't even let those who were escaping get away...I even, somehow, managed to down their ship causing the rest of them to die in the crash. How...how can you say it was understandable?!?"  
  
"Tony..." Bill said, "when people are highly agitated or have seen something personally shocking to them, they may do a lot of things without thinking, acting purely on emotion. You may have these powers...but even you are still human and still subject to your emotions."  
  
"We'll help you through this," Toni said. "There's sure to be a way to control these emotions..."  
  
Anthony sighed. "I hope so...I don't want to become worse than Robotnik was..."  
  
"You won't...you're too good a person for that," Toni replied. "Why don't you rest? You look like you could use it..."  
  
"Alright..." Anthony said, and then was helped to his bed by his parents. He then closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep, a few tears falling as he nodded off.  
  
Toni kissed Anthony on the cheek and then he and Bill walked out of the house, where they were met by Mario, Sonic, and Link.  
  
"How is he, Mrs. Bault?" Link asked.  
  
"Still upset," Toni said. "He's asleep now. Hopefully after some rest he will be able to figure out how to control his emotions. We may have to get some professional help..."  
  
"As long as we get our friend back, Mrs. Bault, it will be worth it..." Sonic said.  
  
Bill then spoke up. "He may not be willing to be the Gamemaster anymore..."  
  
"We don't a care..." Mario said. "We just a want Anthony back..."  
  
Bill and Toni nodded in understanding and the five of them started to walk off, but then Toni looked back at the house with something on her mind. "Just one moment guys, I need to ask Tony something..."  
  
Toni ran back inside the house and walked towards where Anthony was sleeping. "Tony, I wanted to ask you a question..." She nudged Anthony to try to wake him. "Tony?" She then shook Anthony and began to panic. "TONY?"  
  
She ran towards a patio that was attached to his room and yelled down to the group. "Somebody get a doctor! I think Tony relapsed!!!"  
  
Sonic ran off to get Bookshire while the others ran up to Anthony's room.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Anthony looked around at the scenery surrounding him. It comprised of several buildings and landscapes connected together looking like reality and an Escher painting had become one.  
  
"I must be dreaming," Anthony thought to himself as he looked around. "Last thing I remember was falling asleep. Well...might as well look around at..." Suddenly he spotted something over to the side. It was a small crop of land that was jutting out to a lake...the same outcropping he remembered staying at when he was in a coma from using the final power.  
  
"What the? I back here? Oh no...if I relapsed..." He then noticed something else. "The hell? There's a water park over there...I've seen that in a previous dream! And...those fairgrounds...they were in a previous dream too! Great...I'm dreaming in reruns...when did my dreams turn into summer television viewing?" He then spotted something which shocked him...an arcade...an all too familiar arcade...  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
Anthony, age three, ran up to the arcade as fast as he can, knowing the demon had struck again. Sure enough, half of the game players there were mesmerized and weren't looking to well. The games had already hypnotized them and were already sucking their souls as he watched.  
  
"Better do this," Anthony thought as he ran up to the games. He knew the spell would be broken if he could figure out the solutions to the puzzles within the games. One by one he went to the machines and beat the games within them, freeing their victims. As soon as the last of the victims left, Anthony noticed the demon in his human guise...smiling as if to say, "Well done...but I'll be back..."  
  
**END FLASHBACK**  
  
"So, I'm even getting reruns from my childhood," Anthony thought to himself. "And the stupid ones too...the Demon of the Game Dimension? I know I was three back then but sheesh..." He ran up to the arcade and peeked inside the door, expecting to see several mesmerized people staring at the games.  
  
Instead the arcade was empty, save for a lone inhabitant who was noticed Anthony approach and called out to him. "Ah...good. You've finally arrived..." But Anthony recognized him...  
  
"YOU!!!" Anthony cried as he recognized the Demon. "So, back for more, huh? Well, THIS time I think I beat you again...this time literally..."  
  
"No need for violence, Anthony...I'm not a villain this time," the Demon said, standing up. "Actually...I'm here to help you..."  
  
"Yeah, right!" Anthony said. "Pull the other one, it plays the Final Fantasy 9 battle music...which would be appropriate for bringing you down."  
  
"Anthony...I'm serious. I wasn't a villain back then either. I am actually the caretaker of this world you are in."  
  
"World?" Anthony said, standing down and looking confused. "What world?"  
  
"Why...the world of Relm, of course! My name is Jaben."  
  
"Jaben, huh?" Anthony said, still not convinced. "OK, Jaben...if this is some new world, why do the landscapes look like places I've been to before in dreams? And why the HECK is it named after a character from Final Fantasy 6?!?"  
  
"Well...I'm not responsible for naming it, and it did exist before that game did. As for why the lands look familiar, it's simple. This is the world that exists inside your own mind...call it a brainscape if you would."  
  
"So...this world is to me what Magicant would be to Ness? Interesting...will I be able to return here after I wake up?"  
  
"Well, yes...but for right now you cannot wake up..."  
  
"Oh, I see...CAN'T WAKE UP?!?!?!?!?"  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"He's not in the same coma he was before," Bookshire said, examining the instruments he was using to scan Anthony as his parents, Mario, Sonic, and Link watched in anticipation. "He is in REM sleep, and a very deep version it would seem."  
  
"You mean...he's a dreaming?" Mario asked.  
  
"Essentially yes. Apparently, Anthony's unconscious mind must've been alerted to what happened to him as the Dark Gamemaster and must be trying to utilize his abilities to counteract the effects."  
  
"Will he awaken?" Toni asked, desperate for an answer.  
  
"He will, that is certain. How long it will take is still unknown," Bookshire said, then turned towards Sonic. "Sonic, I need you to get some IV units from my office just in case Anthony is in this state for an extended period. I cannot risk moving him right now."  
  
"I understand. I'll be back in a Sonic second!" Sonic said, then rushed out the room and out of the house.  
  
All eyes then turned back towards the prone Anthony, and both Toni and Bill began to show extreme worry in their eyes.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What the HELL do you mean I can't wake up?!?" Anthony yelled, almost looking as if he was going to kill Jaben. "Why was I brought here?!?"  
  
"To combat the Dark Gamemaster," Jaben explains. "He is here in Relm and unless he is stopped somehow he will manage to take over your mind."  
  
"Oh that's just GREAT!!!" Anthony said. "And HOW am I supposed to fight him here?!? I don't have the same psionic powers in my dreams!"  
  
"True, but you have other abilities," Jaben explained. "If you remember from your dreams, you should be able to utilize other abilities as well. Try the first power you learned when you were young...flying."  
  
"Okay..." Anthony said, concentrating on flying up to the ceiling of the arcade he was currently in. Within seconds he was on the ceiling and hovering just above Jaben.  
  
"Excellent," Jaben said. "Believe it or not, that ability and the others will help you combat the Dark Gamemaster. I will help you remember your other abilities, and once you are ready, I will show you where you can find the Dark Gamemaster."  
  
"Jaben...I'm curious," Anthony said, floating back down to the ground. "How do you know about all these powers? I thought you were just the caretaker here."  
  
"I am...but I am also your trainer. You may not have known it, but during all your dreams where you were engaging in one adventure or another, you were actually being trained..."  
  
"What for?" Anthony said, confused.  
  
"Why...to become the Gamemaster of course! I even used your latent telepathic ability to conjure up images of the future so you would get but a taste of the power you would hold in the waking world."  
  
"But why train me? Did you know somehow I was to be chosen by Destiny?"  
  
"Yes...the same way I conjured up those images. When I saw an image of you entering Arcadia, I intensified the training and made your psi talent more apparent."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said, then looking out at the rest of Relm from the arcade. "Well...we'd best get cracking then. We've got a Dark Gamemaster to defeat..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Three hours had passed since Anthony fell into the sleep coma. Bookshire had set up the IV just in case and the members of the Heroes Council had arranged to set up regular watches. At the moment, Luigi was watching Anthony, and was about to be relieved by Protoman who had just walked in.  
  
"How's he doing, Weege?" Protoman asked as he walked in.  
  
"Still a sleeping peacefully," Luigi answered, looking at Anthony's prone body. "What do you a suppose he's a dreaming that would a cause him not to wake up?"  
  
"I don't know..." Protoman said, "but knowing Anthony, he's probably searching inside his own mind for an answer. Maybe he's even using the same psychic surgery he used to restore Julian and Reginald."  
  
"But...canna he use that on himself?"  
  
"Who knows?" Protoman said. "The only guy who knows anything about psionics is laying right there," he continued, pointing at Anthony. "Well, you'd better rest, Weege, my turn to watch him."  
  
"Okie dokie," Luigi said, getting up and letting Protoman take his seat. He then walked out of the house as Protoman sat down, eyes on Anthony the entire time and wondering what he is dreaming.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Anthony had relearned all he could, from fighting to swordplay to maneuvers, and felt he was ready to take on his dark self.  
  
"Okay, Jaben, anything else I need to learn?"  
  
"Just one...do you remember the pillars of light?"  
  
Anthony nodded. He remembered one dream that played out like Resident Evil, except he had to use his bare fists instead of firearms. At one point in the "game", a pillar of light appeared and when he touched it, a suit of armor appeared on him and his speed and strength had nearly tripled, almost as if he had grabbed a Starman or other invincibility powerup.  
  
"What about them, Jaben? Will I be able to use them against the Dark Gamemaster?"  
  
"Yes...but certain conditions have to be met before they will appear, just like last time..."  
  
"What conditions?"  
  
Jaben looked down at the ground and said, "I'm not sure. It may be different this time because of the Dark Gamemaster's influence here."  
  
"Great..." Anthony said, then noticed a dark figure approaching the two of them. "Uh oh...looks like he decided to come for me."  
  
"Indeed..." Jaben said. "Remember...he will take over if you do not defeat him."  
  
Anthony nodded in understanding, then grabbed a sword from the ground that he was using to practice and took a defensive stance. As soon as the Dark Gamemaster came within eyeshot, both he and Anthony charged each other...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Five hours had passed and still no sign of change. Protoman began to worry that Anthony may have relapsed after all, but shook that thought out of his mind and continued the vigil. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door, and he saw Amy walk in.  
  
"Tails told me what happened to Anthony," Amy said, a look of equal worry on her face. "How is Anthony?"  
  
Protoman sighed and looked at Anthony. "Still out, and he doesn't look like he's made any improvement. We're hopeful though."  
  
"I see..." Amy said, and then breathed a melancholy sigh. "Proto...do you mind if I watch Anthony for a while? I told my mom I wanted to check on Anthony..."  
  
"Of course..." Protoman said. "I understand completely. I'll tell the others and they can relieve you at the next watch."  
  
Amy nodded in understanding and took up vigil next to Anthony. She then folded her gloved paws together and started to say a small prayer to Destiny, praying for Anthony's recovery.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The battle between the two Gamemasters was very evenly matched, neither appearing to be gaining ground. Anthony was surprised at how well the Dark Gamemaster was fighting, and was finding it tougher and tougher to parry the Dark Gamemaster's blows. He couldn't even get in a successful attack because the Dark Gamemaster managed to block all the attacks, even taking a few hits without being affected.  
  
Anthony knew one thing for sure...he needed a miracle to pull of this victory.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Amy finished her prayer, she turned back towards the prone form of Anthony looked at him with a sad look on her face. She then took one of Anthony's hands in her paw and held it, hoping the touch might awaken him somehow.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Anthony was preparing for another attack, he suddenly looked up towards the sky and flew upwards to get out of the battle for a short while. He had sensed a presence...a familiar presence. It was almost as if his psionics were still active...  
  
"Amy?" Anthony thought to himself. "She must be watching over me in the waking world!" He then turned back towards the battle, taking a diving attack from his high position and slashing at the Dark Gameamster. To his surprised, the attack seemed to do something to him, and even more surprising was the fact that his counterattack didn't seem as strong as before.  
  
"What the...?" Anthony thought to himself. "Did Amy do this? Could she...?" He then flew up again to avoid the next attack and yelled towards the heavens, hoping his voice could act as telepathy. "AMY!! I NEED YOU!!!!"  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Amy was shaken from her thoughts as she swore she heard Anthony's voice. She then felt herself getting very sleepy, and soon fell asleep in the chair she was sitting in, still holding Anthony's hand.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As Anthony returned to the battle, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly looked and saw the pink form of Amy Rose standing next to Jaben.  
  
"Jaben! What's she doing he...ARRRRGGGHH!!!!" Anthony screamed as he took a nasty sword slash across the chest.  
  
Amy saw this and ran out. "Anthony, NO!!!" As soon as she reached Anthony, the Dark Gamemaster was about to slash again, but Anthony quickly blocked the attack in order to save Amy. He soon noticed the slash was weak again as once again his thoughts focused on Amy.  
  
It was then he realized everything. Who the Dark Gamemaster was, and how to defeat him.  
  
"You're...my negative emotions...all my rage I've bottled up over the years!" Anthony said, addressing the Dark Gamemaster. The Dark Gamemaster tried to attack again, but Anthony easily blocked it. Anthony summoned up all the reasons he fought for Arcadia before: to find his family's powers, to unite the worlds, to free Mobius. With each thought he sensed the Dark Gamemaster getting weaker, and he managed to fight back with greater strength. Then, almost in a flash of insight, he summoned up a reason he didn't know he had within him...  
  
"To give Amy a future..."  
  
With that thought, Anthony saw a pillar of light appear. He lunged for it and a suit of armor appeared over him. He then noticed that the armor was the Armor of the Gamemaster, and realized what he needed to do.  
  
As Amy moved back to where Jaben was, Anthony rushed towards the Dark Gamemaster at full speed, creating what looked like a Master Barrier around him. He also saw the Dark Gamemaster starting to stumble as if he was drunk. Anthony then gathered a large amount of power within him, and just before making contact, released a large blast of energy towards the Dark Gamemaster which completely obliterated him.  
  
As soon as the light from the blast subsided, Amy saw Anthony standing over the remains of the Dark Gamemaster. She then ran towards him.  
  
"Anthony! You did it!" she cried as she hugged Anthony tightly.  
  
"I couldn't have done it without you, Ames," Anthony quietly said back. He then turned towards Jaben and asked, "I assume I can wake up now?"  
  
"Yes," Jaben replied, "and that little girl had best do the same. She is here only because she is mind linked with you, an ability you can use only while in Relm."  
  
"Mind linked?" Anthony asked.  
  
"Yes, anyone who is within physical contact with you can come to Relm as well. Now...you two had best wake up."  
  
Anthony nodded in agreement, and both he and Amy began to force themselves to awake...  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Amy...wake up!" Sonic said as he shook Amy awake. Amy started to stir from her sleeping position and opened her eyes, finding herself looking right into the face of Sonic. She then turned towards Anthony and noticed that he was still out cold, and then gave a sighed.  
  
"It was just a dream..." she said, depressed, as she started to walk out of the room so Sonic could take his shift. Suddenly, both she and Sonic heard low groans coming from Anthony, and watched as Anthony began to stir from his sleep.  
  
"Man..." Anthony said as he started to get up. He then looked towards Sonic and Amy, but before he could say anything, he ended up on the receiving end of a bear hug from a very teary eyed, and very relieved Amy.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Relm, huh?"  
  
The entire Heroes Council had gathered in Anthony's room to hear what had happened while Anthony was unconscious. Amy, Mary, and both of Anthony's parents were also present. Bookshre had already given Anthony a clean bill of health and had removed the IV equipment.  
  
"Yes, Relm," Anthony explained. "Rather interesting having a world inside your mind. I should be able to return there if the need arises, but hopefully that won't be for a long time."  
  
"Tony," Toni piped up, "you said the Dark Gamemaster was your negative emotions?"  
  
"Yes, and you know well about them, Mom. See guys, when I was younger I would hide all my feelings inside to avoid letting my temper show, but as you have seen those emotions can explode at anytime. In this case, they came out in the form of the Dark Gamemaster. Thankfully I was able to destroy the Dark Gamemaster by recognizing what he was...with Amy's help that is."  
  
All eyes turned towards the pink hedgehog and then Mary asked, "How did Amy help?"  
  
"If she hadn't made contact with me and if my thoughts didn't focus on her, I wouldn't have been able to recognize the Dark Gamemaster for what he was. She allowed me to summon up all the positive emotions I had within me to combat the Dark Gamemaster."  
  
"So all you needed was someone close to you to help," Bass mused. "Too bad your parents weren't present at the time..."  
  
"Wouldn't have worked, Bass..."  
  
All present were stunned by this revelation, and then Bill asked, "Wouldn't have worked? But Tony, surely your feelings towards family..."  
  
"That's the point, Dad," Anthony explained. "You see...just like I was repressing negative emotions, I was repressing positive emotions as well. My feelings towards my family have always been open, so they didn't build up in me to be released. However, I did withhold my feelings towards others I loved...like Amy."  
  
Amy looked up at Anthony, startled by this statement. "You...love me?"  
  
"Much like a father would a daughter, Ames. The same way you feel towards me," Anthony explained. "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want you to love your mother any less."  
  
"That would never happen," Amy said, looking into her mother's eyes.  
  
"Tony..." Toni said. "How long did you have these feelings?"  
  
"Well...I didn't know it at the time, Mom, but I had these feelings ever since I first came to Mobius...when I saw Amy crying in her bed after having that nightmare after her experience with the roboticizer. Since Amy didn't have anyone to turn to who could comfort her like Sally did to Tails, you might say paternal instincts took over. I began to suspect I might have been developing these feelings when I had to deal with Amy after she was nearly killed in that one trap Julian setup..."  
  
"So that's what you were wondering that one time..." Toni realized.  
  
"Yes," Anthony said, then he bowed his head down before continuing. "In fact, I have a confession to make...and I'm not sure how Amy will react to this..."  
  
Mary hugged her daughter close as Anthony began to speak again. "I cared so much for Amy, that if I was unable to find Mary or any other of Amy's family alive...I was going to adopt her myself."  
  
Gasps went throughout the entire group, particularly from Anthony's parents and from Amy and Mary. Amy could only just stare at Anthony for a while after hearing that, and then burst from her mother's arms and ran out of the room.  
  
"AMY!" Anthony yelled as Mary ran after her daughter. He then bowed his head in shame. "Dammit...I was afraid of this..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next day, things seemed to return to normal. The work crews, including some of the heroes, returned to rebuilding the city, and many of the kids could be seen playing outside.  
  
Anthony was perched on the edge of the cliff of Vista Point, back in his armor and with his sword strapped to his back. He looked as if he was watching the work in progress, but his mind was elsewhere.  
  
Even though his family was proud of him for being willing to adopt Amy, and the other heroes were glad he no longer had the Dark Gamemaster hanging over him, he still didn't feel proud of himself. Amy was upset, all because of his true feelings, and he was at a loss to figure out what to do.  
  
Only those who looked up at him and knew what had happened with Amy could see the sadness in his eyes, the rest thought he was just watching the rebuilding. Even the Mario brothers felt a little depressed at how Anthony was feeling right now.  
  
Just as Anthony decided to get up and go someplace more private to think, he heard a female voice call out to him. "I thought I'd find you here."  
  
Anthony turned towards the source and saw Mary walking towards him. "Hi, Mary," Anthony said halfheartedly. "How's Amy?"  
  
"That's what I wanted to tell you about..." Mary said, sitting down next to where Anthony was.  
  
"Listen, Mary," Anthony said, looking down in shame again, "I'm sorry for upsetting your daughter like that. I knew that she might be..."  
  
"Anthony," Mary interrupted, "she wasn't upset at all."  
  
Anthony looked up, surprised at hearing that. "Say what?"  
  
Mary smiled and continued. "She was just so happy that you were willing to be her father that she wasn't sure how to express herself. But...at the same time she admitted to me she wished there was a way you could still be her father...while still keeping me as a mother..."  
  
"I see..." Anthony said, "and she knew we were not likely to become a couple..."  
  
"Yes," Mary said. "She has had to grow up without a father...and now here was this person willing to be her father..."  
  
Anthony then spoke up. "Perhaps there is a way..."  
  
Mary looked up upon hearing this. "How?"  
  
Anthony then explained what he was talking about.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Amy was sitting down on a log located next to the Power Ring Lake, now called the Lake of Reflection since Knothole was changed to a memorial site. She stared at her reflection and watched the ripples alter her image. At one point she thought she saw her reflection turn into a human face, and her thoughts returned to what Anthony had confessed. Secretly she wished he could've become her father...but at the same time still wanted to have her mother be her mother.  
  
She began to feel tears well up in her eyes, but before they could form, she heard Anthony's voice. "Amy?"  
  
Amy turned around to see Anthony walk up to her, and watched as he took a seat next to her. "Mind if we talk?"  
  
Amy shook her head, and then Anthony placed a hand on her paw. She then felt something being pressed into it, and when she looked, she saw what looked like a Descendancy medallion.  
  
"I created that as a gift to you to say thanks for helping be beat my dark half," Anthony explained. "You probably won't be able to use it since you aren't a descendant of any of the original heroes, but I thought you deserved it. I...also gave it to you as an apology for upsetting you."  
  
Amy looked at it in wonder and then looked up at Anthony. "Thank you. I...don't know what to say..."  
  
"Don't say anything, just listen," Anthony said, and then took a more serious tone. "Amy...your mother told me about your feelings. How you wish I could be your father while still having your mother..."  
  
Amy looked down in shame and then Anthony continued. "Amy...even though I can't technically be your father...I can still be like a father for you. Or more appropriately...a mentor."  
  
Amy looked up in surprise at this. "A mentor?"  
  
Anthony nodded. "Back on Earth they have been showing a lot of commercials about mentoring a child...providing guidance almost like a parent would. I wish to do the same for you...if you are willing."  
  
"I am...but my mom..."  
  
"She was more than happy to agree. She even said you can come to me with any problems you have just like you would go to her."  
  
Amy jumped up and hugged Anthony tightly, smiling and letting all her tears out, this time tears of joy. Anthony also let a few tears out, relieved that Amy was no longer upset.  
  
He then stood up, carrying Amy in his arms, and said, "Come on, I think this calls for a celebration. I'll treat you to an ice cream in Minoc Grove."  
  
Amy gladly accepted, and then Anthony activated his jet sled and the two of them sped off towards Minoc Grove. As they sped off, two pairs of eyes watched them leave, both of which were the respective mothers of the two that had just left.  
  
"It looks as if your son has fully recovered from this ordeal, Toni," Mary said. "Thank Destiny...I'm sure Arcadia will be glad they have their Gamemaster back."  
  
Toni watched as Anthony and Amy left her line of sight, and then with a tear in her eye said, "I'm just grateful I have my son back..."  
  
THE END  
  
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Acknowledgements  
  
Based on the games, comics, cartoons, and fanfiction of Super Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, Megaman, and Sonic the Hedgehog.  
  
Special thanks to those that have reviewed my first work, Heroes of Arcadia - The Gamemaster's Legacy, and encouraged me to write more. Also special thanks to David Gonterman for continuing his work and inspiring me more despite being a frequent MiST target. (Check out his latest work, Night Soldiers, at http://foxfire.twu.net!)  
  
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Sources and recommended fanfiction reading  
  
Blood and Metal - David Gonterman  
T-Bone's Saga and Wildcat Alley - T-Bone  
The Knothole Chronicles - Felix Xavier Minx  
  
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Heroes of Arcadia and Gamemamster are (c) Anthony Bault.  
Comments? Suggestions? Email me at baultaw@usfamily.net.  
Flames accepted this time because I don't think this is my best work... 


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